Working for the Enemy
by Amelia Louisa
Summary: CALZONA AU - Sun Tzu claims that in the art of war, you should hold your friends close and your enemies closer but Sun Tzu never had Callie Torres as an enemy. How exactly will Arizona cope with having to work for the notorious womanizer and public face of Torres Industries when a project close to her heart is at threat and it feels like the whole world is against her.
1. Chapter 1

Hey Guys, Welcome to my new fic, Working for the Enemy. Firstly I aren't one for word count cheating by posting ridiculous AN's at the beginning and end of every chapter, but I wanted to just explain a few things initially before we get down to business. So this fic is inspired by one of my favorite movies... I wont tell you which one, but points go to the first person to correctly guess. I will confess that i have taken the liberty of 'stealing' a lot of content from the movie, i have tried to modify it and make it my own, but some bits are just too damn good to change, so should you be reading and think "hey i know that line!" or "wait, I've heard this before!" you probably have... just not in a Calzona way! please don't be sending me hate mail for it, i am confessing openly that i have done this and I have spent a lot of time on this fic to make it my own and not a simple rip off of someone else's idea and comic genius.

Next i want to admit that the first two chapters I actually dislike... like dislike with a passion. I have written and rewritten them several times, and have reworked a dozen times what i have kept to try and improve them, but i just never seem to be happy with them, but i need them to stay put as they are the explanatory chapters that introduce first Arizona and her AU background, and then in chapter 2 Callie and her AU background. Hopefully i am being overly self critical, and you readers enjoy the first two chapters a lot more than i did when i re-read the finished pieces.

I have gotten the majority of this fic written, i wasn't planning on posting it until it was complete, but the anxiety i was getting over these first two chapters has been driving me nuts and so i have decided to just post them and get them out of the way and then we can just get into the good stuff. saying that, should you come up with any suggestions along the way, i am not against going back and rewriting some bits to improve the fic.

Things you should know before continuing... hmmm... well when it comes to me... Calzona will always be endgame, however this fic is a slow burn, so be prepared for that, but rest assured, these two knuckleheads will eventually find their way to each other, it's all about enjoying their journey and not just reaching their destination. There will be some OC along the line. there will also be a little drama, some angst, and some comedy... well what i define as comedy anyway... you however may not find it funny but i personally have laughed out loud several dozen times whilst proof reading! i will also admit that at one point i had myself sobbing at one chapter and wondered how it was possible to write a piece of fiction that made myself cry like a baby!

Anyways, enough with my rambling, here is the first chapter... meet Arizona Robbins...

-oOo-

Arizona Robbins esq. was a highly educated attorney who, following in the footsteps of her parents, had dedicated her entire education and career to saving historical America one demolition site at a time.

In a world where corporate giants bought out architectural gems of the country, only to rip them down to rubble and in their place build towering soulless structures that were designed and built purely with profit margins as the only consideration. Warriors like Arizona, who constantly put their safety on the line, were the only hope in retaining the culture from the wonder years.

Years when buildings were designed to be pleasing on the eye, to spark interest and intrigue in not only the buildings contents but the inspiration for the design. When buildings were designed to make the neighborhood look nicer and have character.

The thought of these buildings full of charm and character being ripped to the ground, only to be replaced by stock designed, cheaply erected and bland buildings broke Arizona's heart.

She longed for the day that she would reenact her own childhood and take her own babies on tours of the great New York and to tell them all about the origins of charming buildings that were full of historical and cultural information. She had loved those days herself, when school holidays would come and her mother or father would take a day off for the family city tour, and as the years passed, the tours changed into quizzes as her parents fought to find a question about any building in New York that a teenage Arizona couldn't answer.

And that's how she found herself one Saturday once again at a demolition site. Not for the first time koala hugging the wrecking ball of a bulldozer as she faced down the Torres Industries demolition crew, trying everything in her power to put a stop to their attempts at destroying a seventy five year old single stage theatre house, a building that was one a pillar of the community in downtown New York.

A building that one time housed all the great names that early to mid nineteen hundred broadway could offer. But now, due to it's 'run down' state and the owners not having the funds for the needed upgrades, the owners had decided it would be easier to just sell it on and use the money for their retirement. Which meant that she was now having to protest against yet another soul destroying, money making, heritage swallowing monster ripping it down.

"Get off the ball lady!"

"Put a stop to this demolition and I will happily get off the ball" Arizona argued, determined to not fail in saving the building like she had in practically every other protest she had organized with her best friend Teddy Altman, and more recently Teddy's fiance Henry. He was mainly here to spend more time with the woman he loved, and to make her happy by supporting her, but Arizona would take all the help she could get. Why look a gift horse in the mouth?

"Look lady, your working on my very last nerve" the site forman yelled, trying to show boredom and disinterest but the pulsing vein in his neck gave away how frustrated and angry he was getting, after all he was the one who would have to answer to Carlos Torres about the staffing hours the demo had taken, and no one wanted to come between Mr Torres and his money, regardless of how much of it je had to spare.

"This building has been here for seventy five years, that trumps your nerves!" Arizona scoffed. "the community deserves for this building to remain in place, it represents the ideals of it's time and it should be landmarked, not ripped down so Callie Torres can build yet another emotionless piece of crap building" Arizona could feel her voice getting louder as she tried to project her point not just for the work crew, but for the dozens of people that were now lined up alongside the protective barrier watching the scene unfold with fascination. Any press was good press right?

"This is your last warning lady, we've got a permit to take this shit heap down!" The site foreman called to her, careful to not project his voice too far for the general public to hear.

"And I have a permit that allows for me to gather for the purpose of expressing my constitutionally protected right to the freedom of speech!" Arizona mocked as she felt her arms begin to ache from supporting her body weight on the wrecking ball and nodded towards Teddy in a silent message to prepare the yoga mats that they had brought so that when they laid down and linked arms to stop any further movements, they wouldn't get gravel, broken glass and 65e likes sticking into their skin. Teddy motioned for Henry to follow her and help, leaving Arizona to climb from the wrecking ball in a very un ladylike manner.

"Are you trying to get killed lady?" The foreman scoffed, glancing to his friends who were watching the blonde woman struggle with amusement.

"Sir, according to city code section 245..." Arizona ignored the laughter being directed at her, she was used to being mocked after all, most of her weekends since the age of fourteen had been spent doing this exact same routine.

"Forget about your code... where the hell are you going!" The site foreman watched on in horror as the blonde moved to join her friends and laid down on their yoga mats right in front of the demolition site in a position that restricted them from starting. If they were to start they would absolutely cause an injury to one of the protesters who could then sue them, and that would NOT go down well with Mr Torres.

"According to city code section 245, if a landmarks committee..." Arizona attempted again only for the arrogant foreman to interrupt her once again.

"Lady, you're in violation here, the police are on their way!"

"Then let them come, we aren't breaking any laws... come on everyone, join us! Lie down in protest for this beautiful building being ripped down unnecessarily" Arizona yelled, her heart sinking when not a single person moved to join them.

"You're on your own lady... you had better get out of the way before the police arrive" the foreman scoffed as his workers burst out in laughter at the blondes failed attempt to rouse the crowd.

"We will prevail!" Arizona yelled loudly and proudly.

"you will go to jail!... Hey look, I'm a poet, it's a shame this playhouse isn't still open, I could have done a show of my own" the foreman called out, grinning when his crew and a few onlookers laughed.

"then stop the demolition and you can be their headliner" Arizona called, not finding his comment in the slightest amusing but willing to go to any lengths to save the architectural gem behind her.

"Here come the po po's lady, this is your last chance to move before you end up with a rap sheet" the foreman called teasingly.

"We are not doing anything that constitutes arrest sir, this is a peaceful protest and we will have the last laugh when they have to just stand beside you and watch" Arizona smirked despite the nerves running through her.

"It's your funeral lady!" He scoffed as a uniformed officer approached him.

-oOo-

"Thank you for bailing us out Mr and Mrs Robbins" Teddy offered embarrasedly, this was far from the first time Arizona's parents had come to help them out of the lock up but the feeling of shame and guilt never got any easier for her.

"Oh you're welcome dear, it's no problem at all" Barbara Robbins smiled warmly, nudging her husband with her elbow when he grunted in annoyance.

"We should head off Teds, we have that dinner with your Mom and her husband" Henry offered, unable to meet Daniel Robbins eyes, the man petrified him.

"Of course... I will speak to you tomorrow?" Teddy asked turning her attention to her best friend who looked drained.

"Sure, we have that sunrise yoga session at five, I will swing by your apartment and pick you up at four thirty" Arizona forced a smile as she pulled her best friend into a hug. "Thanks for today Ted's... you're the best… you and Henry"

"You know that I have your back Arizona, always... and please tell your parents I will work out a way to pay them back for all of the bail amount's... I would tell them myself but your Dad looks like he is ready to commit murder and I would rather be alive for my wedding day" Teddy giggled softly, not wanting to disrespect Arizona's parents by laughing in their faces after they had just done her a huge favor at a great expense… again.

"Yeah thanks for leaving me hanging! If I don't turn up for yoga… call the police and file a possible murder ok?" Arizona scoffed as she pulled away from the hug and waved her friends off before turning to her parents who were watching her with matching looks of annoyance and disappointment.

"I promise I will pay you back… I know I keep saying it… but I will" Arizona offered with a weak and nervous smile.

"What are parents for if not to bail their little princess and her idiot friends out of jail?" Daniel scoffed angrily.

"Did they knock it down?" Arizona asked her mother, ignoring her father for the time being until he had calmed down and would be a little more receptive to a discussion that didn't involve telling her again how much she was messing her life up when she should have followed her girlfriend Jo to work for Greenpeace. Arizona's shoulders slumped when her mother didn't give her any verbal answer but instead nodded with an empathic smile.

The three Robbins began their short walk back towards their home, Arizona having moved back in with her parents after Jo had quit her job to go volunteer for Greenpeace and her low salary at Legal Aid not being enough to cover a shanty in Africa, never mind a self contained one bedroom unit anywhere within fifty miles of the boundary of New York city.

"God! Why aren't I getting through to people? Everytime I try and save a landmark I end up behind bars and the building gets knocked down anyway! What am I doing wrong here? Why aren't people responding to me?" Arizona deflated, before Barbara pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Bug, Torres Industries are not people, they are a heartless profit machine that can't see past their own wallets to give a shit about anyone or anything else. They are damned terrorists to this country" Arizona gazed at her father from her mother's shoulder, it wasn't often he allowed his anger to show on the outside. "And as if that isn't bad enough, now they are moving into our neighborhood, the community meeting tonight announced that the devil himself Trump is bidding on the waterfront lots... they want to rip down the community center and put up condo's instead!"

"Wait... what? Our community center... no... oh no! I can't let that happen, it's our community center! You guys know that Tim and I practically grew up there, do you know how many happy memories I have of being there... I have to stop this from happening" Arizona felt the panic rising within her.

"Come on Honey, let's get home and we can discuss it over some dinner" Barbara smiled affectionately as she stroked her daughters hair gently, she wished her daughter would find something more stable and less dangerous to put her energy into, but she was nothing but proud of her determination and effort.

"You know what Mom... I think I'm just going to head straight to bed, it's been a long and eventful day I'm feeling a little pooped" Arizona offered as they approached their apartment complex and the end of their walk. Reaching the apartment she bid her farewell to her parents and entered her room, dropping her things unceremoniously on the floor.

Grabbing her cell from her bag, she powered it on and waited for it to load as she went into her small ensuite and began to strip for her shower, there was something about being locked up that always left her feeling all kinds of dirty and she needed a shower desperately.

She couldn't help but smile when she saw three missed calls from her girlfriend and a message warning that a voicemail had been left. Turning on the water and adjusting it's temperature she dialed her voicemail, excited to hear the voice that she missed so much and hoping that her girlfriend had been calling to confirm the flight details for tomorrow.

"Hi Zo... it's me Jo... I know i promised, and I hate to do this to you, but I'm not going to be able to make it back tomorrow, I know... I know... I promised and I'm letting you down, but we just got a new intake of interns and you wouldn't believe how bad they are... the Cap has cancelled all shore leave so we can get them up to scratch before we set sail at the weekend and they cause an injury or death at sea... I know it sucks and I know I promised, but I swear I will be thinking of you the whole day, and missing you... and wishing we were celebrating together... anyway I've gotta go, we are all heading out for drinks tonight to celebrate the captain's birthday and I promised I wouldn't be late... have a good birthday Zo... love you"

Arizona pulled the phone away from her ear and dropped it onto the vanity before glancing in the mirror and shaking her head in frustration at the tears that were now rolling down her face. As if this day couldn't get any worse, now her girlfriend was backing out on spending her birthday together, it had been a little over six months since Jo went away, it was only meant to be for three weeks, but something always came up that forced her to stay and she felt like a shit for being upset and angry about it, Jo was out there saving the world and here she was, crying like a mess. With one final shake of her head, she stepped into the shower to wash the shitty day off of her, determined to not be long and get into bed and asleep as soon as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- here is the second part of the introductory offer and probably the last you will hear from me as an A/N unless something comes up along the way. thanks for sticking with it so far, and i promise that after this chapter, things get better. Happy reading and please feel free to review, nothing makes my day more than receiving a little note from somewhere around the world offering advice, compliments or constructive criticism... or a combination. AL xxx

-oOo-

"When they told me that I had been chosen as the Medical Center's Person of the Year … I assumed it had something to do with the millions of dollars Torres Industries have contributed to the new pediatric wing but as it turns out, I had my tonsils removed earlier this year and whilst under anesthesia, I apparently proposed marriage to every nurse in the hospital, including the many attractive male nurses on staff" Callie Torres smiled her billion dollar smile as the members of the press box laughed at her usual charm, yes the press loved Callie Torres, and yes, that billion dollar smile wasn't an estimate, her face was in fact insured for a billion dollars, as the face of T.I., Carlos Torres had made sure to protect his assets as well as trying to protect the beauty of his daughters face.

Having the public, the many companies that worked alongside them, the government agencies, and even their competitors from the biggest corporations to the one man band companies; charming everyone was of utmost importance when you owned and ran a business that dealt with bi-monthly profit margins that saw more zero's than most people could dream of earning in a lifetime. It was a life that Callie was used to and accustomed to however, it was her job to charm people, and it was something that over the years she had become exceedingly good at in not just her professional life but also her personal life.

"Why exactly ARE pediatrics so important to Torres Industries?" A reporter she recognized as Jack from 'Architectual Monthly' called out and Callie raised her eyebrow at his question as she quickly debated how to answer in her head, a ritual that by now was second nature. She would drum up an answer or two and quickly debate whether to go with the serious and diplomatic answer or to go with the answer she found funniest, nine times out of ten the latter won out.

"Well Jack, I think feet are very important, don't you?" Callie deadpanned before releasing her pearly whites into another brilliant smile. "I'm just teasing... of course I know that there's a lot more to pediatrics than feet" Callie winked as the press erupted into another burst of laughter, and not that usual awkward polite laughter that most public figures received.

The press genuinely loved Callie, and respectfully Callie loved them too, she took the time to get to know their names and often after conferences she would seek them out for a little friendly off the record banter. She had sent many gifts to them and their families over the years, flowers upon losing loved ones, fruit baskets at times when a loved one was seriously ill or in hospital, baskets full of newborn items and 'new mother' luxuries when a family was expanded.

It wasn't just a tactical behavior either, sure having the press loyal to her and happy to give her the heads up about things when it wouldn't affect their livelihood was good business, but she also did it because despite what people thought about her, she actually did care about these people that she spent so much time with over the years. She wasn't the heartless womanizer that everyone assumed that she was just because she wasn't interested in love or commitment and instead preferred to just spend her time loving women, all types of women in all types of ways, and they always knew her expectations and they always left with a smile, she made sure of it so no harm came from her lifestyle.

"No, But seriously, as the great Whitney Houston once said, 'I believe the children are the future, treat them well and let them lead the way, show them all the future they possess inside'… If we want to help the economy grow and provide more stable jobs for the American people then we need to start nurturing the youth of America, and it is Torres Industries dream for our company to continue to be passed down from generation to generation, so not only do we need to nurture our little Torres', but we need to nurture the children that will go on to work in our legal team, our architects and our building supervisors right the way through to the young men and women that will go on to lay the bricks, clean the offices and answer the phones, regardless of what role each child will play in the future, their values are great and at T.I., we see the value in investing in their future and that starts by keeping them fit and healthy so that they have a future" Callie gave off another billion dollar charming smile as several light bulbs began to flash.

"Ok guys, that's it for today, thanks for coming out to hang with me… anyone for mimosa's? I know a lovely bar not too far away" Callie smirked as she made a joke relating to a luxury retreat they had just finished building a few blocks down that hosted the most impressive rooftop bar New York had ever seen, and why not give it a little publicity and remind everyone it was there as she offered a wave and stepped down from the podium, removing the decorative hard hat she had been given to wear as a tribute to the fact that they were holding the press conference at the building site of T.I.'s latest build, a hotel complex that would hopefully be 'THE' place for the rich and famous to stay in New York.

"Congratulations Callie" Graham, one of the medical directors smirked at Callie as he kissed her hand.

"Hey Graham, thanks for coming out... how are you? Any decent surgeries lately?" Callie asked politely, she didn't mind the man if she ignored the fact that he continued to flirt with her despite the entire world knowing that Callie Torres was very much a lover of the female form.. and boy did she love the female form.

"I wish Cal... way too much pencil pushing these days, making sure we give pretty ladies like yourself awards" Graham winked.

"Hah... well I thank you for the honor, medical person of the year is an award I have long dreamed of receiving. I will make sure it gets pride of place at HQ" Callie glanced at Mark Sloan, T.I.'s marketing manager in hopes that he would take the hint and come and rescue her but before he had the opportunity to jump in a slender yet pretty brunette jumped in ahead of him.

"Hi Ms Torres, sorry to interrupt but my name is Jo Wilson, I'm an orthopedic surgeon at the hospital you just built"the shorter brunette smiled as she held her hand out hopefully. Callie eyed the woman up and down, subtly licking her lips in delight at the beauty that was before her.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Miss Wilson" Callie accepted the hand and shook it before sliding her fingers sensually as she disconnected their hands, watching the brunettes face for any signs of interest. The brunette blushed slightly but didn't look overly smitten, she could work with that.

"My friend, Leah... Murphy... over there, really want's to meet you, but she's a little shy.. Would it be okay if I brought her over and introduced you?" Jo asked embarrassedly as she pointed out her friend who was stood watching the exchange nervously.

"Of course... don't tell her but I have been really nervous to meet Leah myself" Callie winked before turning her attention back to the dirty blonde that Jo Wilson had pointed at, now SHE definitely looked like she could be some fun.

"Cool, I will just go and grab her, don't move... I love your blouse by the way" Jo smiled more confidently.

"Thanks Jo, I love it too" Callie grinned, watching as the brunette walked away shaking her head in amusement at Callie's antics.

"Hey" Callie's ass gazing was interrupted by a male voice, with a roll of her eyes she turned to her best friend and marketing director Mark who was grinning at her knowingly.

"What?" Callie asked innocently.

"I don't know who's the bigger whore, you or me" Mark smirked, eyeing the dirty blonde and the brunette who were whispering animatedly as they kept glancing in their direction, no doubt towards his best friend who always managed to catch the eye of the ladies… straight, gay, bi, or somewhere completely in between the three.

"Hey! I resent that implication, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a bit of no strings attached fun with a beautiful woman… as long as both parties are consenting adults and aware of it going nowhere… what's the problem?" Callie scoffed.

"You're preaching to the choir sister" Mark winked playfully before sobering slightly. "Your dad just called, he wants to see you"

"What? Right now? What is it this time?" Callie scowled.

"That's what he said" Mark shrugged as he flashed his rolex, a Christmas gift from the brunette, in her direction so she could read the time for herself. "You know that I know better than to question Mr T. I just do as I'm told… you give him enough headaches for the both of us" Mark grinned mischievously.

"Callie, this is my friend Leah" Jo interrupted, rolling her eyes at her friend who was bouncing excitedly on the spot and not making any attempt to hide her blatant fangirling.

"Oh hey Leah" Callie smiled, unable to resist running her eyes over the dirty blonde again now that she was closer.

"Hi" Leah grinned dreamily. "Would you sign my GQ?"

"You're err?" Callie glanced around her in embarrassment at the woman being quite so forward and hoping that none of the press were eagerly listening, when she turned back to the dirty blonde she found a magazine practically thrust in her face, she scoffed when she saw the image of herself in what Mark had dubbed the 'I'm rich and powerful come hither and fuck me' suit. Her leg bent arrogantly against a luxury leather office chair showcasing a pair of 'fuck me' heels and instead of her usual smile her face held a dark sultry glare, almost looking like she was threatening anyone to defy her. The magazine contained an article all about Callie, celebrating her being officially listed as the number one business woman in America.

"Oh... your GQ, for a second there i thought it was a medical term I hadn't heard of before... you had me all excited" Callie winked as she took the magazine and the proffered marker and began to write in her 'autograph' writing… something her father had forced her to see a professional to get help with.

'Leah,

thanks for allowing me to sign your GQ's!

Callie Torres xox'

She watched as she handed to magazine and pen back and the dirty blonde read it, squealing happily before skipping away without another word much to both brunettes and Mark's amusement.

"Thanks Callie, it was lovely meeting you… good luck with everything" Jo smiled before following her friend.

"Bye Jo, the pleasure was all mine" Callie smiled warmly before turning back to her taller and more masculine companion with a smirk "Well Leah was excitable"

"Imagine how bouncy she would be in the sheets if she is that bouncy in the middle of the day in a public place!" Mark grinned as he guided Callie towards her jet black short limousine.

"You're incorrigible... yet I will confess that great minds do think alike" Callie laughed. "So wait... my father calls you and tells you to send me running, and what? I'm just supposed to drive all the way to Westchester? Is he going crazy in his old age? Call him back and tell him I am busy and he will just have to wait till I have some free time" Callie pouted and folded her arms adamantly across her chest.

"Way to give it to the man Cal... who does he think he is huh? He ain't the boss of you!" Mark patted her on the shoulder and bit back his laugh at her even attempting to act like she could get out of it.

Callie stared at her friend incrediously as she mulled over what he said before shaking her head in annoyance and getting in the car.

"I will let him know you are on route shall I?" Mark smirked.

"Suck it Sloan" Callie shot before slamming the door in his face.

An hour later and her driver had finally managed to get them through the never ending traffic and out of the city towards the suburbs and the elite area which her father lived.

"Good Evening Callie" her fathers house keeper come childminder smiled as she opened the door.

"Hey April, you're looking very pretty today" Calie smiled kindly. She had tried it on with the younger redhead years ago when her father and his new wife had first hired her, only to have the woman burst into tears, Callie had felt not just terrible but guilty about upsetting the perky young woman and took it upon herself to soothe the woman and they had spent a couple of hours of the brunette talking to the other women without any hint of verbal foreplay, and found that she quite liked the woman's company as a friend and without trying to charm herself into the other womans pants. She was amazed at the fact someone just a few years younger than her could still be a virgin and be so innocent, and since that night they had shared a simple friendship. Something she didn't share with many women at all, especially a friendship with no sexual history.

"Thanks Callie... I would offer you the same courtesy, but you have probably already been told by a few dozen women today and if I inflate your ego much more your head may not fit through the door hole" April smiled cheekily causing Callie to throw her head back and laugh openly.

"One more compliment never hurts Apes" Callie winked teasingly as April closed the door behind her.

"Calliope, what a lovely surprise" her step mother greeted and Callie felt her jaw tighten instantly in annoyance at the woman continually using her full name.

"Hello Esmeralda" Callie greeted amicably, it wasn't that she hated the other woman, in all reality she had no problems with her and she was thankful that the woman had come into her father's life after the divorce and had taken such good care of him and made him smile again, it was just that... well Esmeralda wasn't the kind of person Callie would choose to chin wag with.

Although Callie was born into and had earned her own wealth, it wasn't something she liked to flash around, despite what the general public thought. Sure she lived more than comfortably and always dressed well, but she didn't flaunt what she had, unlike her Step Mother. Isme Torres was one of those women who always looked impeccable and spent her days shopping, or hanging at a day spa with her friends, or having high tea at one of New York's premiere venues. She had a top of the range Maserati in the drive despite travelling by limousine everywhere, it was there purely for show. And Callie didn't hold that against her, she was after all a lovely, warm and friendly person on the whole… they just had different priorities in life and had they not been tied by the man they both loved, they would have very little in common.

"April, the children are waiting for their bath" Esmeralda dismissed the red head, who left instantly with a final wave goodbye to her friend.

"How are my little brothers... apart from dirty and smelly?" Callie asked with a fond smile, when she had first been told that her father was starting a whole new family just six years ago at the tender age of fifty two, it was safe to say she hadn't been happy, nor impressed. However the second she held Gavin in her arms the first time, she had fallen in love and vowed to love him and always be there for him, and then two years later another bundle of joy arrived, little Simon had completed their little family and Callie had fallen just as deeply in love with the second boy.

She missed her sister Aria, who had chosen to go and live with their mother after the divorce, despite being a fully grown adult and not needing to make a choice between parents. When Callie had come out in her early teens, her mother had hit the roof, her father who wasn't exactly enthralled with the idea either had spent years reigning his first wife in and trying to drum it through her thick skull that their daughter was the same person she gave birth to, the same person they had raised and loved since she was born. But the day Callie had announced that she was not going to make any more efforts to hide her sexuality from the public was the day everything changed. Her mother had demanded that her father cut her off and cast her out and her father had point blank refused, standing his ground and supporting his daughter. That night her mother packed her bags and had never been seen since, and along with her went Aria.

The two sisters spoke on the phone at Christmas and on birthdays, but where Callie had followed in her father and grandfathers footsteps and lived the public life… Aria decided to go to medical school and pursue her dreams of being a surgeon. She lived a modest life, not advertising her surname, instead going professionally by her mother's maiden name. And so Dr. Aria Sanchez lived a peaceful life out of the spotlight and away from her sister and her father's new family.

"They are fine, I'm sure they would love for you to pop in and read them a bedtime story though, you know they love their big sister time" Esmeralda smiled, although her and Callie didn't see eye to eye on most things, she couldn't deny that the wild brunette was amazing with her sons, and they truly adored her. She loved to sit back and watch the three of them, it was a side to the billionairess that only a lucky select handful got to see and a side that she truly wished Callie would embrace.

"Oh absolutely... I hope they haven't been cheating and reading ahead in Harry Potter!" Callie smirked.

"Oh no... it is sat in the same place you left it, they won't let anyone touch it. They are desperately awaiting the Harry Potter movie night you promised them" her step mother reminded her and Callie smiled sheepishly, she had completely forgotten about her promise. "Can I get you anything to eat?"

"I'd love a chocolate milk" Callie smiled, it was a drink she usually enjoyed with her brothers when she had the opportunity to pick them up from school, on those occasions she would take them to a 50's styled diner for milkshakes and burgers before taking them to the park to burn off the energy she had just fed them, and she hoped they had some to share over a bedtime story.

"We don't have any. I could send out for one" Esmeralda offered half heartedly.

"Oh, no, don't be ridiculous... If you're going to send out for one why not get a whole box full… make the shopping excursion worthwhile" Callie smirked, biting back her laugh at the look of annoyance on her step mothers face, Isme never did seem to get her humor, and that hasn't changed over the years.

"Your father is upstairs in the gym" the older brunette raised her eyebrow, making it perfectly clear that Callie had been dismissed. She made her way upstairs, smiling as she heard the laughter of the two boys coming from the bathroom in the children's wing of her father's house.

"one hour at a steady five miles an hour, not bad for a man approaching sixty... " her father greeted almost cheerily.

"it shows... you look so much younger these days, I almost mistook you for Mark Wahlberg" Callie grinned as her father eyed her pointedly as he slowed down the treadmill to a walk to prepare his body for stopping "Why exactly have I been summoned Daddy?"

"We lost the upper east side waterfront deal because your chief counsel, or should i say your latest piece of eye candy forgot to file the damn environmental impact report... that's millions down the drain, and you know how much I abhor losing money Mija" Carlos Torres chided.

"I know Daddy, I admit that the law aspect of the job was not Fiona's strongest point, that's why I decided to let her go" Callie smiled sheepishly.

"That's why I let her go Mija, just like I let Amber from Cooley Law... oh and Reed from Whittier, Stephanie from La Verne and let us not forget the legal mess that was Lauren Boswell from Appalachian. I want you to replace Fiona with someone from Yale or Columbia... if it's not Ivy league then I'm not interested, do I make myself clear Mija?" Carlos raised his eyebrow, daring his daughter to challenge his order.

"But Daddy... women of that level of intellectual ability generally find me shallow... you don't want me to be working so closely with someone who I aren't comfortable with do you?" Callie smiled sweetly.

"Then hire a man Mija!" Carlos snapped.

"Daddy don't be absurd" Callie scoffed.

"What because you won't be able to sleep with him... how about you hire someone that will be good for business instead of good for your sexual appetite for once" Callie frowned at her father, it was unlike him to stand his ground on who she hired to work closely with her. "Calliope, you need someone who is capable and competent to write a brief instead of just removing yours. And they can handle your divorce while they're at it... I assume that you are still getting a divorce, yes?"

"Yes Daddy, unless the woman I fell in love with and married decides to actually fall in love with me... for the first time... oh and decides to be in a committed marriage then yes I'm still getting divorced" Callie snapped bitterly.

"Good... well not good that she hurt you so badly, but good that you're still getting rid of her, that whore never was good enough for my hermosa mariposa... now… go and read to your brothers, when I said you were coming over they begged for me to let them stay up a little later so you could read them a couple of chapters... try not to get them too wound up though! You know Isme hates it when you get them all geared up at bedtime" Carlos kissed his daughter's forehead after stepping off the treadmill and grabbing his towel to wipe down his face.

"Yes daddy" Callie sighed, wishing sometimes her father would just let her be without giving her orders about everything. Was it too much to ask for a simple 'hey Cal your brothers would love for you to read to them if you have the chance tonight'. As she took the first few steps down the hallway and towards she saw the two boys who were peeking out their bedroom door expectantly, before seeing her spot them and dashing back to their beds excitedly before getting caught being out of bed by their mother and getting into trouble.

"and Mija, hire a real ivy league attorney by tomorrow or I will hire someone for you" Carlos called down the hall as he exited the gym room and made his way towards the master suite to shower, not waiting for Callie to reply.

"Cal you came" Gavin beamed as his big sister entered the bedroom.

"Of course I did little man, we have a Harry Potter date… I wouldn't miss that for the whole world" Callie smiled affectionately as she crawled into the middle of Gavin's King-Single bed, smirking over at Simon as she patted the empty side, laughing as he stood on his own bed, jumped on the spot a few times before yelling 'Gavin's Bed Go!' And diving across the space, giggling as Callie caught the four year old in her arms mid air before he landed on the floor and hurt his little body.

"What are you doing crazy man?" Callie grinned as she kissed his forehead and tucked him into the bed beside her.

"I was travelling like Harry does when they go to Diagon Alley but he says it wrong and says diagonally and ends up in the naughty part" Simon announced as if it was obvious.

"Maybe you should not jump from bed to bed little man, it's not like April is a witch like Hermione and can magically fix your bones if you break them" Callie tickled the little boy softly before grabbing the third book in the Harry Potter series and opening it up to the spot they left off last time. This was their second time through the series but the second she had finished the last chapter of the final book, the boys had begged her to start again and who was Callie Torres to say no to two handsome boys who held her heart in their tiny little hands.

"Ok you two muggles... are you ready for the magic to begin?" Callie smiled as both boys snuggled closer to her, fully prepared to just relax and listen to their favorite person read their favorite story, this was a time they both truly treasured, they idolized their big sister and loved it when they got to hang out with her, but loved it even more when she read Harry Potter to them at bedtime. Nobody read bedtime stories quite like Callie did, not even April.

"She really loves those boys" Esmarelda smiled as she peeked through the door and saw the three siblings sound asleep in Gavin's bed, the book laid open on Callie's legs as two tiny arms wrapped around her waist and her sons heads lay sleeping soundly against Callie's chest.

"if only she would start being the person she is with the boys with the rest of the world, I'm sure i would have far more hair" Carlos smirked as he kissed his wife's shoulder before leading her to bed and leaving three of his four children to sleep soundly under the protection of his roof.


	3. Chapter 3

Callie sat at her desk at T.I. HQ finishing up her fifth interview of the day. So far she had interviewed three stunningly beautiful women who came from decent enough legal backgrounds, and one not so beautiful woman, yet none of them matched her father's requirements and she was starting to feel frustrated.

"So Tara... it was lovely to meet you" Callie forced a smile, the woman she was interviewing was exactly who she would normally hire, smart, sexy and full of fun, however she knew from the get go that her father would not approve of her, and so she had to let her down.

"It was lovely to meet you too Ms Torres, and may I say you are more beautiful than the photos give you credit for" Tara flirted and Callie couldn't help but smirk. Oh how she wished she could hire this woman.

"Thank you Tara, unfortunately you just don't have the experience we are looking for at the moment, perhaps in a year or two after you have gotten some more exposure under your belt we could re interview" Callie smiled sadly.

"Oh, ok... well thank you for your time, it was a pleasure meeting you" Callie could tell that she was trying her hardest to hide her disappointment. "You have my contact details so perhaps if a vacancy becomes available you could keep me in mind... or if you wanted to maybe catch up for a drink sometime..." Tara trailed off, biting her lip slightly to control the flirty smile that was threatening to break across her face as she eye the stunning brunette hoping that the gorgeous woman would take her up on her offer.

"I will be sure to keep that in mind, thanks Tara" Callie dismissed, as much as she would love to flirt a little and perhaps get to know this woman a little better in a more intimate fashion, she had a tight deadline to find a replacement for Fiona before her father took it upon himself to hire some god awful suit with a stick up their ass that provided her with absolutely nothing to perve over during a boring meeting. And the five people that she had lined up were complete duds. She had an appointment to get to and as soon as that was finished it would be back to the drawing board. Perhaps once the spot was filled she could call Tara and invite her to dinner, maybe arrange a little desert… at her apartment of course.

As she exited the office building full of frustration and lost in thoughts of where the hell she was going to find an ivy league attorney that was attractive and fun in the next few hours she failed to notice a blonde woman approaching her.

"Ms Torres... excuse me Ms Torres" Callie couldn't help but eye the woman suspiciously, she was naturally attractive with her blonde hair loose and in easy loose curls and striking blue eyes, but she was wearing the most god awful grey grandad cardigan that looked like it had been worn by her actual grandad over a black blouse with black skinny fit jeans. It wasn't exactly an unattractive look, it would be on most women, but this particular woman seemed to own the outfit and actually looked quite sexy in it. It was just unusual especially for people she liaised with.

"Ms Torres Hi, my name is Arizona Robbin's and I'm an attorney..."

"Ever heard of Seattle Grace Law School?" Callie interrupted, the stranger questioningly.

"No..." Arizona studied the billionaire in confusion as to why the brunette would ask such a question.

"That's a shame... where exactly did you go to law school?" Callie asked as she picked up her steps and begun making her way to the limousine that was waiting for her.

"Harvard... I wanted to..." Arizona attempted to get to the point again but was once again interrupted.

"Harvard? Really... well that's interesting, what's your background, any experience in the property or construction industry?" Callie asked, her interest well and truly piqued as she glanced at the woman who was working hard to keep up with her pace with far shorter legs than her, so she slowed ever so slightly.

"I don't really see how that's relevant Ms Torres, I work for legal aid and on several private projects" Arizona eyed the brunette suspiciously, wondering what had caused the other woman to ask.

"private projects?"

"yes… environmental and heritage cases usually, but I have also helped a few people out who needed representation and couldn't afford it, but that's besides the point" Arizona shook her head in a bid to get her head back in the game and focussed on the task she came here to achieve.

"That can't pay too well... legal aid isn't exactly known for their alluring and competitive salaries and I'm going to assume that you don't get a salary on your private projects, perhaps just a little here and there when you win a case" Callie mused.

"I'm not really all that interested in money Ms Torres, but I would like to talk to you about..." Arizona trailed off as she realized she was being closely examined by the brunette and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Hang on... i know you… you're that Robbins chick... you're the crazy lady that lays in front of wrecking balls... didn't you attack Cliff Howard earlier this year?" Callie grinned mischievously when she saw the blush rise to the blondes cheeks.

"I did not attack Mr Howard, it isn't my fault that the dumb ass walked under a wavering protest sign and hurt himself when it blew into him and knocked him to the ground!" Arizona scoffed in annoyance, fed up of having to explain the incident over and over. It was all a misunderstanding and an accident, why couldn't people understand that?

"Wait, so you aren't here for a job?" Callie asked as she tried to hide her amusement at the blondes obvious annoyance.

"What? A job… Ms Torres?… god no… no absolutely not!... I'm here representing the Coney Island Community Center... it was built in 1914 and it's the heart and soul of Coney Island. It has adult education and social programs. It's great for people of all ages within the community from children through to senior citizens and hosts a range of programs like martial arts, dance classes, basketball, CPR and basic first aid, lamaze classes... it's a gem of the community, I practically grew up there myself"

"I agree it's a charming building, but the Trumps have the inside track on it, it was lovely to meet you Ms Robbins" Callie dismissed before picking up her pace towards the limousine and the impatient looking Mark Sloan.

"Ms Torres wait... I haven't finished... I live there, as well as my parents who know Assemblyman Shepherd who is on the Coney Island Community Center board of directors... I have an agreement that if you can guarantee to preserve the community center and allow it to continue running, then I can guarantee Torres Industries the build" Arizona smiled hopefully.

"Wait... why exactly are you bringing this to me? Why Torres Industries?" Callie asked in interest as she studied the blonde closely, trying to get a read of her and ignore the adorable dimples that were being flashed at her.

"Well, honestly I can't get close enough to Donald Trump to make the offer to him, and Cliff Hoffman has a restraining order against me... so I can't take my offer within two hundred and fifty feet of him..." Arizona trailed off sheepishly and Callie couldn't help but smile at how adorable this Robbins woman was, not at all what she expected from the rumors that were rampantly circulating about the woman dubbed in the business as the 'pain in the ass demolition demonstrator'.

"Cal, you're due to start recording with The View in just under forty five minutes and Public Policy Magazine are still waiting on quote on the challenges of urban planning… they are getting close to print time and are starting to panic that they don't have it yet" Mark interrupted, eyeing the strange blonde who was talking to his best friend, smirking as Callie stepped into the back of the limousine and the blonde followed without being invited or waiting for an invite. He slid into the car, pen and pad at the ready, waiting for Callie to give him his quote.

"Oh right... yes... a quote... hmmm... the challenges of urban planning…" Callie tried to silence her mind so she could form something appropriate and moving whilst ignoring the blondes assumption that she was allowed to join her in the vehicle. "What i love about architecture and urban planning is it's ability to shape a community..."

"The Coney Island Community Center has shaped the community for many years Ms Torres" Arizona interrupted, determined to get her point across and save the center that held so many happy memories for her. "It's an integral part of Coney Island, it turns strangers into neighbors and..."

"I like that..." Callie smiled before turning to Mark "and to change strangers into neighbors and how the right design for a park can make people feel secure so that they can forget about the outside world and just relax and unwind. How the right look of a neighborhood allows its residents to not only feel safe but take pride in their surroundings. How a school building can be functional as well as beautiful so that children feel..."

"Ms Torres! the community center makes children feel engaged... it provides them with a place to..." Arizona tried once more, ignoring the smirk from the tall man sat opposite her, clearly amused at her losing battle to get her point across to the brunette.

"wait... functional and beautiful so that children feel engaged and inspired instead of... imprisoned?" Callie asked eyeing the blonde questioningly, nodding at Mark when she saw the approval written on the blondes face.

"Sounds good Cal... very nice" Mark mused as he grabbed his iPad and began tapping what Callie assumed was an email to their contact at the PPM.

"Yes... it does sound good Ms Torres… but i said community center, not school" Arizona sighed in frustration.

"I know... nice cardigan by the way" Callie grinned as she took the coffee Mark was holding out to her and took a sip as she eyed the blonde thoughtfully.

"Erm, thank you? I guess..." Arizona glanced down at her trusty old cardie before glancing at the brunette and studying her nervously, unsure if she was the butt of the billionaires joke "Anyway... do we have a deal?" Arizona prompted yet again.

"Not yet... but there is something else I want from you" Callie smiled sweetly before raising her coffee and taking a large gulp of it.

"Hah... that is not going to happen! I am fully aware of your reputation Ms Torres and there is absolutely no way you are getting that from me! no way, nuh uh! Not.happening!" Arizona shook her head whilst glaring at the brunette defiantly.

"Not getting what… exactly… Miss Robbins?" Callie asked in confusion.

"You're not getting that.. you know... the sex... not from me anyway!... that is never going to happen" Arizona squinted at the other woman, daring her to make a move, or make some kind of sleazy comment but instead was met with an amused laugh. Callie glanced sideways subtly at her male companion who was biting his lip in an attempt to hold in his laughter and not be obvious as to how much he was enjoying this moment.

"That wasn't what I was suggesting… Although I'm sure the sex with you would be lovely... very nice probably... but it certainly wasn't what I was implying" Callie shook her head with a soft giggle at the other woman's gall as the blonde tried to give her the stink eye. "look... I promise to save your precious community center... if... you come to work for me as my chief counsel… AND I will give you direct and sole access to our pro bono kitty... that's millions of dollars at your disposal for whatever charity you see fit" Callie offered hopefully.

"I have spent my entire life working against people like you Ms Torres" Arizona gasped in shock.

"How's that been working out for you?" Callie smirked knowingly as the blonde pouted in an almost childlike way. "if you were to accept my offer and come to work for me, perhaps you will win occasionally and be able to spend more time doing something useful and less time hanging out on demolition sites and getting arrested... but I will need an answer within the next two hours" Callie nodded as if making a silent agreement with herself before opening her leather satchel and retrieving a business card which she handed over to Arizona.

"This is my direct line at T Hotel" Callie offered an innocent smile, hoping against hope that she could convince this beautiful mysterious woman to accept her offer and come to work for her. "if you can call me and let me know either way I will be home by six, if I haven't heard from you by then I shall assume that you are declining my offer"

"Wait... you actually live in a hotel?" Arizona asked in shock.

"I own the hotel, and I had the penthouse remodeled as an apartment, but yes… I do live in a hotel... my life is very much like monopoly, only I aren't bald, I don't have a moustache and I try to refrain from wearing a top hat and walking around with my gold topped cane… and every time i leave I don't collect two hundred dollars " Callie smirked at her own joke, ignoring her friend who was giggling beside her. "oh and I know you don't care about money, but I will start you on three hundred 'k, and I usually try to throw in a nice Christmas bonus too, you know… tis the season to be jolly and all" Callie grinned.

"I um... I'm not exactly sure what to say Ms Torres" Arizona confessed as she glanced between the two people sat opposite her studying her whilst awaiting her answer.

"Say Callie… saying Ms Torres makes me feel incredibly old, and I tend not to like being made to feel old, I prefer to feel like I'm the female Peter Pan, I will never get old and I will never grow up.. I do have to dash though… I'm sorry but I'm running really late... you have my number, have a think about it and please let me know either way by six this afternoon" Callie smiled hopefully before crawling over her friends lap in a very un lady like manner and dashing out the car only to disappear from view, leaving Arizona and Mark in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Mark cleared his throat.

"You should really consider that offer Ms Robbins. Torres Industries really does take care of their employees and like Cal said, you will be a lot more successful at achieving your goals if you work with us instead of against us. At the very least give it a few months… you get your center preserved and T.I. get to stick one to Trump... which if you knew Carlos Torres that is something he takes great pleasure out of doing and If you find you don't like it, then no harm, you just walk away and go back to your life as it is now" Mark smiled warmly.

"Thank you..." Arizona eyed the man expectantly.

"Mark... Mark Sloan... I'm T.I.'s marketing director which pretty much means I am Callie's PA as she's the face of the company… however I am also Callie's best friend for around thirty years now, and practically a son to Mr T… it's very much a close knit family run business when you ignore the billions of dollars that T.I makes annually" Mark offered his hand and smiled as the blonde accepted it.

"Thank you Mark, I will definitely give it a think and let you both know… thanks for the lift" Arizona smiled sheepishly as she glanced around to try and catch her bearing and work out where exactly she had ended up.

"I hope to see you at the office soon Ms Robbins" Mark offered one final heartfelt smile before following Callie into the recording studio and leaving Arizona stood in the middle of the street, miles from home with a racing mind.


	4. Chapter 4

"I can't believe how much I just ate" Arizona groaned as she leaned back in the chair and stretched her protruding stomach out. The biggest perk of living with her parents was her mother's amazingly good home made cooking available on demand.

"It's a good job you have such a high metabolism sweetheart, otherwise we would be rolling you to bed tonight" Barbara winked playfully at her daughter.

"You know when I'm nervous I start eating and forget to stop" the youngest Robbins whined defensively.

"Arizona... you cannot go and work for THAT woman, she represents everything this family stands against" Daniel practically demanded as he crossed his arms defiantly and set his jaw in a way he knew that his daughter would read as a sign to not argue with his decision.

"Oh hush Daniel... we could use the bail money" Barbara teased, smirking as she saw her husband's posture relax slightly. Daniel Robbins was a tough man to handle, he was set in his ways and was confident and adamant about his beliefs and morals, some of the greatest legal minds in the country had tried and failed to change his mind, but once it was made, it didn't change… unless it came to his wife and daughter. The only difference was, his wife was well aware by now of how to lovingly manipulate him to get her way, whereas Arizona was oblivious to it, as far as she was concerned he didn't budge for anyone or anything, if only she was more aware of all the times he had budged or bent for his little girl.

"Daddy, remember what Sun Tzu said? 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'…" Arizona sighed, she knew getting her father on board with this would be the hardest part, he was after all Daniel Robbins, one of the most educated and well respected lawyers in America, which is exactly why he had been entrusted to shape the minds of future legal geniuses whilst running his private law practice part time and on occasion lending his brilliant mind to the White House itself.

"Well... I'm pretty certain that Sun Tzu didn't have a daughter, so he can just mind his own business, can't he?" Daniel clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and pouted slightly. Barbara placed a calming hand on his forearm in a bid to get her stubborn husband to ease up a little, whilst biting her lip to refrain from smirking at the arrival of the infamous Robbins pout.

"Daddy, it is the only way we can save the Community Center... and if I went to work for Callie Torres she has promised to give me millions of dollars to put towards any charity I see fit, and I will have the company resources to help those charities too… do you know how many people we can help with that money and those resources, we can start making a real difference Daddy!" Arizona argued, she couldn't explain it but there was something that was pulling her towards this job, she really wanted to give it a try. Perhaps it was Mark's little speech, and he was right! What did she have to lose by giving it a go? If it didn't work out she could just walk away.

"Do you really want to get into bed with that devil woman?" Daniel asked in exasperation, knowing from the two sets of identical blue eyes staring pleadingly at him that he was well on the way to losing this argument.

"Daddy I'm definitely not getting into bed with her, I'm going to be working with her... and I will still be your little girl, I will still be the person you raised me to be, a good man in a storm, with all the ideals and morals that you instilled in me... I just… Daddy, I feel like I will be able to do more good by working with them than fighting against them... please Daddy... please support me in this" Arizona begged.

"Very well... you have my backing... I just hope it doesn't blow up in your face Arizona" Daniel huffed, trying to ignore the smirk on his wife's face.

"Me too" Arizona admitted with a bashful smile.

-oOo-

Three weeks later Arizona exited her office in a grey pencil skirt and a fitted white blouse and strode purposefully towards the legal assistants department, smiling in greeting at Alex as she slid a manila folder onto his desk.

"Could you please update these files, especially the municodes. I'm going to need them for my meeting this afternoon" she asked sweetly, grinning when Alex grabbed the file and began working on it straight away, he always put her work as a priority over everyone else's.

"Thanks Alex, you're a life saver" Arizona popped her dimples.

"No worries Arizona, you know when you need something, I'm your man!" Alex rolled his eyes playfully, the two of them had created a close bond in the three weeks that she had worked at Torres Industries. At first she had found his enthusiasm to help her personally disconcerting, suspecting him of trying to get on her good side before trying to make a move on her, but since meeting his fiancee Jo at a bar one Friday after work, and seeing how in love the couple were, she had relaxed and taken his friendship on face value.

"You know it Karev... do you know where I can find Callie?" Arizona asked, following his fingers point to the brunette who was walking around the office chatting with various people without a care in the world.

"Thanks, just stick the folder on my desk when your done... Thank you" Arizona called over her shoulder as she made her way towards the brunette.

"Callie, sorry to interrupt" Arizona couldn't help but raise her eyebrow in a mixture of annoyance and amusement as she realized that once again she had caught the brunette doing anything but serious work. "I've been over the environmental impact reports for Coney Towers and I want to talk to you about the findings"

"That's fine Arizona... I wanted to talk to you too actually" Callie smiled sweetly.

"Oh... is something wrong?" Arizona furrowed her brow as she forced herself to keep eye contact with the brunette and not allow her eyes to travel down and take in the outfit the brunette had chosen to adorn that day. The brunette never looked anything less than spectacular, miraculous almost. As if she had rolled out of bed to had a make up, hair and wardrobe team on hand, that would explain how the woman always looked so incredible and the black skin tight jeans with the tucked in fitted blue and white blouse with white cuffs sealed in subtle yet exquisite diamond cuff links which matched her earrings, her natural height accented by the two inch black leather pointed toe shoes. Her hair had been left down and although straight, it had a natural wave to it that looked almost laid back whilst remaining professional, and her natural makeup was applied with expert precision. Yes, Callie Torres was a sight to behold and Arizona was kicking herself for failing in her attempt to not bask in her boss, yet again.

"I wanted to ask which of these do you prefer?" Callie asked as she handed three small envelopes to the blonde and pulling Arizona from her musings.

"Well they are envelopes... I will be honest and admit that I don't really have a preference when it comes to an envelope... as long as it adheres to the rules of being an envelope and fits it's intended contents and it seals then I can't say it's a topic that I am likely to lose sleep over..." Arizona trailed off in confusion as she saw the amused glint in the big chocolate eyes watching her.

"It's for my new personalized stationery... which do you prefer?" Callie asked again, grabbing the three envelopes back before displaying them as if they were an award on a prize show and Arizona was her contestant.

"Is this a trick question Callie? They look exactly the same" Arizona scoffed at Callie's playfulness.

"No trick question Ms Robbins... see this one here is a linen finish... and this is an embossed watermark finish and this one is a silk matte finish" Callie chided playfully as she winked at the blonde who rolled her eyes in response. Arizona grabbed the envelopes back and inspected them individually, still not really seeing a difference before she eyed the brunette suspiciously.

"You do realize that actual forests have been chopped down to manufacture the non recyclable paper that these ridiculous envelopes have been made with, animals have literally been ripped from their habitats... little baby animals left homeless and more than likely orphans because their parents were murdered by the machinery that ripped up their homes… probably traumatized from watching their parents being murdered right in front of their tiny little eyes" Arizona glared at the brunette pointedly.

"yes.. Yes... poor Bambi... but if you had to pick which one you prefer" Callie goaded, already knowing by now that it was pointless trying to defend herself against the blonde on an environmental tirade, she would out with her every time with her environmental speeches. If she was honest, she really just got a kick out of seeing the blonde all worked up and on her soapbox, it was an endless source of entertainment and amusement for her.

Arizona squinted at the other woman before shaking her head in annoyance and turning her attention back to the envelopes before sighing in frustration and taking a quick lick at the gum on each one, oblivious to Callie's raised eyebrow and slight intake of breath at the delicate way Arizona's tongue peeked out from between her soft looking pink lips.

"This one... it tastes better, and if you're going to be licking a lot, you want it to taste good" Arizona announced as she handed her choice back first before tossing the other two envelopes back with disinterest.

"Now that is something that we can definitely agree on... I certainly prefer things that I'm going to be licking a lot to taste good" Callie smirked as Arizona blushed, realizing what she had said and how Callie had taken it as a double entendre… something Callie seemed to have a knack of doing.

"I didn't mean it like that... God doe's your mind live in the gutter?" Arizona chastised as she tried to disguise her blush. There was just something about her boss that was able to make her blush about the smallest and most insignificant of things, and she knew that Callie was aware of it and made it a game to make her blush at every opportunity, which just frustrated her further when she unknowingly complied.

"I'm Sorry? How exactly is my mind in the gutter?... I'm talking about ice cream of course! ... I'm not sure what you're referring to but perhaps YOU are the one who has a mind that lives in the gutter" Callie teased before following Arizona's earlier actions and taking a lick at each envelope and raising her eyes in surprise at the differences in taste.

Unfortunately for her, Arizona wasn't anywhere near as subtle with her reaction to the sight of the other woman's tongue poking out between her lips and swiping across the envelopes gum, and Callie instantly picked up on the way the blonde inhaled sharply before squirming slightly on the spot. Callie couldn't resist raising her eyebrow in response, basking in the way Arizona blushed once again. Something that she was getting increasingly good at making the blonde do.

"You know, I have asked a dozen people that exact same question and you are the only one to give that answer... my god you're good! I should give you a pay rise" Callie beamed as she changed the subject and took pity on the blushing blonde.

"Thanks Callie, but I would much rather we went over those environmental..." Arizona trailed off as Callie sauntered away with a determined gait and a confident swing to her voluptuous hips. Shaking her head, Arizona breathed out a sigh of frustration before moving off to chase Callie down and force her into doing some actual work.


	5. Chapter 5

"What do you think?" Callie asked as she turned her head to gaze at the blonde who was laid next to her.

"it's firm" Arizona sighed through her boredom.

"well... there are some things that should definitely remain firm..." Callie trailed off teasingly, winking when Arizona's eyes snapped at her in annoyance. "but is this bed too firm, there is a strong debate amongst chiropractors about the optimum level of mattress tension... what do you think?" Callie asked deliberately ignoring the huff that Arizona threw in her direction.

"I think it's a mattress Callie, and as long as it's comfortable enough for you to sleep on, who really cares?" Arizona offered halfheartedly.

"You would think that huh... but there is so much more to a mattress than just an object to sleep on Arizona..." Callie grinned as she saw the slight blush cross Arizona's face.

"Callie do you ever think about anything other than sex?" Arizona asked seriously as she studied the brunettes face and frowned when she saw the evident mischief in those big brown eyes.

"Well I was actually referring to how comfortable it is to sit up and work on my laptop on a night whilst watching 'family feud'... but It's good to know that you're being very thorough and considering all bases for me" Callie giggled before she started bouncing playfully on the bed, not caring about the looks she was receiving from the other people in the showroom.

"You do have a very good point though, it is very bouncy... what do you think... have a bounce" Callie urged with a straight face as she ignored the gleeful looks on the children looking at her with a look of longing, desperate to jump on the beds themselves.

"I am not bouncing with you Callie!" Arizona whispered with annoyance as she glanced at their spectators with embarrassment.

"Come on Arizona... bounce... I need to know if you think it is bouncy enough" Callie smirked.

"Why is it so important for you to know how bouncy I think YOUR bed is?" Arizona sighed in frustration, trying her hardest not to laugh at Callie's antics, knowing that if she cracked she would only encourage the brunette and would only end up suffering with further embarrassment later. it was an act that she had begun to perfect, the brunette could annoy and amuse her in equal amounts, but if she showed her amusement the brunette would push the boundaries further and further until it was no longer amusing or Arizona had her back against the wall, and so she did everything she could to keep a straight face.

"Because I generally don't bounce like this in bed when I'm on my own…. Well I mean occasionally… sometimes needs must after all... but normally I have some company... a bed bouncing buddy" Callie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"You know you're a pig right?" Arizona scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

"Admit it... you want to bounce... bounce with me Arizona... come onnnnn... bounce!" Callie goaded with a flutter of her long eyelashes as she glanced at the blonde through hooded eyes.

"You… are... a... child" Arizona announced as she bit her lip harshly to stop the smile that was threatening to burst across her face.

"What if I ask nicely... will that help? Please Arizona, please will you bounce with me on the bed? Pleeeaaaassssseeee" Callie pouted her voluptuous lips exaggeratedly and fluttered her eyelashes further.

"That whole seductive Torres look doesn't work on me so save your efforts" Arizona raised her eyebrow, her evident amusement was now written all over her face and she was unable to hide it.

"See you say that... but the fact that you detected and concluded that it was a seductive look implies that you do in fact find it seductive, and the fact that you are looking at me and thinking I'm seductive implies that you in fact find me extremely attractive" Callie grinned triumphantly.

"I do not!" Arizona shrieked, glancing around her to make sure nobody was close enough to hear Callie's claims.

"Wow... so you're saying that you think I'm ugly? Wow, just wow... way to hurt a girls feelings Arizona!" Callie's face straightened and she pouted as she glanced in the opposite direction to the blonde.

"Hang on... I didn't actually say you were ugly!" Arizona defended with a groan of frustration, unsure if Callie was doing her usual routine of messing with her, or if she had genuinely offended the brunette, she certainly looked pained by Arizona's words.

"So you don't think I'm ugly?" Callie asked innocently as she continued to pout, forcing an adorable sad look on her face.

"I don't think about whether you are ugly or not Callie, you are my boss… it's not something I consider or spend time mulling over, the only thing I think about in relation to you is about work" Arizona squinted as she studied the brunette, making sure her words were neutral but firm.

"But if I wasn't your boss... and you saw me in the street... then you would think I was ugly?" Callie sat up from the bed and turned her back to the blonde, slumping her shoulders and lowering her head in a show of defeat and hurt. Her voice was laced with disappointment and vulnerability.

"Oh my god Calliope, I swear it's like dealing with a child sometimes" Arizona gasped as she dropped her head into her hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act like a child... It just hurts my feelings that you think I'm ugly, you know how important your opinions are to me... I just didn't expect your opinion on me to be so low, it just makes me think about what other qualities I have confidence in that i shouldn't" Callie offered dejectedly over her shoulder.

"Of course I don't think your ugly Calliope, you're stunningly beautiful and you know It" Arizona chided as she laid a soothing hand on her bosses shoulder, surprised at how insecure Callie was behaving.

"I knew it!" Callie grinned as she jumped up and spun towards the blonde who was watching her in shock at her sudden outburst. "I knew that you thought I was hot" Callie smirked triumphantly.

"I'm pretty sure I didn't say you were hot, in fact I know for SURE I didn't call you hot... and anyway, what makes you think that I would refer to any woman as hot?" Arizona glared, not amused that Callie had played her successfully yet again.

"We both know you really do think I'm hot Arizona... and trust me, I know when a woman finds me hot... anyways, my gay-dar is immaculate, in fact it is so finely tuned it can detect if a woman has ever accidentally had a single sexy thought even if she didn't realize it herself, that's how sensitive and amazing my gay-dar is" Callie winked.

"You know who I do find hot?" Arizona smiled sweetly, ignoring the rest of Callie's taunts.

"Who?" Callie smirked.

"My girlfriend... Jo" Arizona deadpanned, biting back the smirk when the confusion erupted onto Callie's face.

"Wait... what? You... you have a... girlfriend?" Callie asked in shock "How have I been working with you all this time and didn't know this?"

"Because Callie, you are my boss not my friend and my love life is private and none of your business" Arizona scoffed.

"Ah... but you have just told me about your love life which must mean that you now consider me your friend and not just your boss anymore" Callie fist pumped the air triumphantly.

"You are not only a moron, but you think far too highly of yourself" Arizona offered as she shook her head in mock annoyance.

"Possibly... but as your FRIEND I want you to know that I appreciate your friendly observation... buddy!" Callie laughed as Arizona flopped back on the bed dramatically before scrunching her face up and looking thoughtful. "You're actually right... this bed is quite bouncy!"

"Hah... see... but is it bouncy enough? Or is it too bouncy... I mean you don't want it to be soooooo bouncy that you bounce right off it, that could be a little bit of a mood killer" Callie asked seriously as she laid back on the bed beside the blonde, grinning proudly when Arizona laughed out loud at her question.

"Trust me Torres... if you ever found yourself lucky enough to be anywhere near my bed you will be bouncing right off it and landing with a loud thud as your ass hits the ground " Arizona laughed as she rolled her eyes at the banter between the two of them.

"you know... flirting really suits you Arizona" Callie winked.

"I was not flirting with you... not every woman wants to throw themselves at your feet and declare their undying lust to you, you know" Arizona scoffed.

"not every woman per say... but let's be brutally honest here... there is a large majority that do in fact try to throw themselves at my feet and claim their undying lust and in some cases love to me" Callie snorted at Arizona's glare.

"But seriously... if we WERE having the sex right now... would you find this bed too bouncy?" Callie asked without a trace of humor, glancing at the blonde who was looking thoughtful as she stared intently at the ceiling with her sparkling cerulean eyes.

"No... I don't think it would be! its bouncy enough for some movement and I guess to aid that movement too but it's not too bouncy that it would feel like having sex on a bouncy castle" Arizona admitted before turning to look at Callie, raising her eyebrow questioningly when she saw the almost dreamy smirk on the latina's face.

"you were TOTALLY just imagining having sex with me right here on this bed" Callie grinned triumphantly as she began doing a little dance.

"I was not" Arizona shrieked.

"Then why are you blushing so much?" Callie laughed.

"I am not blushing… it's just hot in here!" Arizona adamantly denied.

"it's hot because you were thinking about me being naked on top of you bouncing around and it's got you all worked up" Callie teased, her smile dropping when Arizona's eyed welled up before she got up and practically stormed away, the brunette quickly jumped up and followed her.

"Hey Arizona... I was only joking, I'm sorry I took it too far" Callie offered genuinely as she reached out to the blondes wrist to halt her escape.

"Calliope you may be a cheater but I aren't! I told you I have a girlfriend and I would appreciate it if you respected that instead of insinuating that I'm disrespecting my relationship by cheating with you in my head" Arizona snapped before storming out of the shop and leaving a bewildered and hurt Callie stood in shock watching her retreating. Her mind reeling between the accusation Arizona had just made and why the blonde had gotten so defensive about her joke and gotten so upset about it.


	6. Chapter 6

Arizona awoke to the incessant vibration of her mobile against the wooden bedside table and groaned as she blindly grabbed the device, her eyes peeking open as she glanced at the bedside clock to see that it was a little after two in the morning. She brought the phone to her face and squinted against the sleepiness as the harsh glare of the screen burned at her retina's. She growled in frustration and annoyance when she saw ' Callie Torres' flashing on the screen, before a slight panic washed over her, something must be wrong for Callie to be ringing her at such an ungodly hour.

"Hello" Arizona quickly answered with worry laced in her sleepy voice.

"Oh hey! I'm glad you're still awake, I didn't want to wake you but I felt like a chat with my favorite colleague" Callie grinned into the phone obviously half cut as she smiled at the redhead beside her.

"Calliope, it is quarter past two in the morning and I WAS asleep, as are all of the sane people in the city... if you feel like a chat can't you just speak to whatever bimbo you are picking up tonight?" Arizona sighed as she rolled over and snuggled into her pillow, hoping that the brunette would take the hint and disappear so she could get back to the dreams she was having.

"Hey! I resent that insinuation, that's not very nice at all... just because someone doesn't have an IQ as high as yours Arizona doesn't mean that they aren't a nice person who is worth the time of my day" Callie scoffed.

"Callie, anyone with an IQ as high as mine would have more self respect than to jump into bed with you" Arizona snarked at Callie's accusation.

"Wow, aren't you a bowl of rainbows and sunshine tonight" Callie giggled.

"Fine Calliope, I am tired and I just want to go back to sleep because I have to be up early so that I can get you divorced, so put her on" Arizona sighed in defeat.

"What do you mean put her on?" Callie gasped in horror.

"I mean put her on the phone, I want to speak to her" Arizona smiled sweetly despite the fact that Callie couldn't see her.

"Oh… well ok I guess... ok then..." Callie smiled at the fact that Arizona was going to help her get laid. "It's for you" Callie offered the phone to the redhead she had spent the past two hours trying to convince to come home with her. Normally she wouldn't waste so much time and effort, after all she was Callie Torres, women threw themselves at her, but tomorrow the woman she had loved and married was divorcing her and she needed someone to keep her company through the night and take her mind off of everything so that she could feel strong enough to deal with tomorrow and the shit storm she was certain would happen when it came to her soon to be ex-wife Kara.

"Heeeey" Arizona rolled her eyes at the clear bimbo on the other end of the line, and she sounded the same amount of happy drunk Callie sounded.

"Hi... that woman that your hanging out with right now... she is deeply troubled and even though she is rich and charming and extremely beautiful, you really don't want to be wasting your time with someone who won't even remember your name before you even make it back to her apartment, never mind the fact that she is married and between you and I... only last week recently had a very suspicious rash that required a visit to a gynecologist and a prescription of strong antibiotics AND an external cream! It is after two in the morning... go home, get some sleep, and tomorrow, wake up and go back to school, get an education and reach your potential" Arizona listened as the line remained silent and she literally heard the other woman's two brain cells rubbing together as she mulled over this new information.

"You ok?" Callie asked nervously as she watched her companion hand the phone back to her before standing up and grabbing her bag and jacket.

"I think I'm just going to go and umm... sleep, goodnight Callie" the redhead smiled tightly before dashing away and not giving the brunette a chance to change her mind.

"Do I even want to know what you just said to her, Arizona?" Callie asked amused, a feeling which surprised herself. She expected to be mad at the blonde for clit blocking her, but she wasn't in the slightest mad, just highly amused at the blondes antics.

"I'm going to be honest Cal, probably not... why are you in a bar trying to pick up bimbo's at two am when we have to be at your wife's lawyers office in..." Arizona glanced at the clock and groaned "six hours?"

"Couldn't sleep" Callie admitted with a shrug and Arizona could have sworn she heard a sadness in the brunettes voice. Something she had never heard any trace of up until this point, and it surprised her.

"So make some hot chocolate or read a book..." Arizona scoffed.

"I needed something else" Callie shrugged feeling a little embarrassed at her honest and straightforward confession.

"Ever heard of a vibrator Callie?" Arizona asked without thinking, instantly slapping her head in frustration as she felt the heat rise to her face.

"Actually I have... but the damn batteries ran out again" Callie laughed as she heard a noise which she assumed was Arizona slapping herself for having said such a thing and especially in front of Callie who of course would pick up on it and run with it.

"Then buy some new batteries... or buy one that recharges itself, you would be surprised by the vast array that you can buy these days and I'm sure you are aware that you can afford the best of the best" Arizona offered with a roll of her eyes, she only had herself to blame for being stuck in this conversation and listening to the amusement in Callie's voice, she had successfully cheered her up with her blunder.

"You seem to know a lot about vibrators, maybe we should go shopping after the hearing tomorrow and you can help me pick out something the keep me entertained" Callie suggested with a smirk.

"I am NOT going vibrator shopping with you Callie!" Arizona stated. "Wait, why is it so quiet all of a sudden?"

"I'm walking home" Callie offered.

"Why are you walking, it's late... that's not safe" Arizona asked, the worry evident in her voice as she quick fired her questions.

"I just felt like some fresh air... seen as someone ruined my entertainment for the night... thanks again for that Arizona" Callie scoffed, trying to hide her misery.

"You know Callie… you don't need random women to keep you entertained, what you need is a hobby" Arizona smirked teasingly.

"Ahh but women ARE my hobby... why are you still talking to me anyway, doesn't your girlfriend have a problem with you waking her up to talk to another woman in the middle of the night?" Callie asked curiously.

"She's not here right now, she's away working" Arizona shrugged noncomitedly.

"Ah... I don't suppose you feel like some company?" Callie teased jokingly.

"If you show up at my place, I promise I WILL hurt you! Since I moved into my brand new apartment I keep a baseball bat handy just incase anyone turns up unannounced... especially if they go by the name Calliope Torres" Arizona warned with a smirk.

"that sounds... kinda kinky, Arizona! like prison kinky... I'm not sure if even I am THAT kinky" Callie laughed.

"Calliope" Arizona groaned.

"I'm just teasing Arizona, don't worry... you made it perfectly clear the other day that you aren't interested in that and unlike me, you are not a big fat cheater" Callie grimaced when she heard the unintended malice laced in her own voice, it was only meant to be a joke.

"Callie... I'm... I'm sorry that I said that... you hit a raw nerve but I shouldn't have spoken to you like that, I had no right to say the things I did" Arizona grimaced.

"Don't worry about it... just... look... I know you think poorly of me... just… don't take everything you hear about me at face value, I'm really not a bad person Arizona, I just have some flaws just like every other person on this planet" Callie sighed as she kicked a piece of trash that was laid on the ground in annoyance, watching as it flew across the road.

"What is that meant to mean? Of course I know your not a bad person" Arizona's eyes opened in shock as Callies words hit her and the tone hit her heart.

"I just... you know what, it doesn't matter, thanks for the chat and I'm sorry I woke you up" Callie scoffed in annoyance at herself as she picked up the piece of trash she kicked and threw it with gusto into the nearest bin.

"Calliope, tell me what you're thinking right now" Arizona whispered, she could hear the pain in the other woman's voice and was instantly beginning to worry. If there was one thing Callie Torres was a master at, it was hiding her feelings and emotions behind her carefully protected mask, so for Callie to let that mask slip, even if it was for just a second, was a cause for concern for Arizona.

"It doesn't matter" Callie said a little too perkily, obviously trying to hide her upset and readjust her mask back into place. "Don't worry about it I'm just being silly"

"It does matter Cal, it matters to me! Just tell me... come on if you can trust me to pick out your bed, and your underwear and apparently now even your vibrator then surely you can trust me with whatever has you so upset right now" Arizona tried to cheer the other woman up and get her to trust her fully but was met with several moments of silence.

"You know.." Callie sighed deeply as she prepared herself for what she was about to share

"... when I got married, it wasn't just some act for publicity or to please my father or whatever it is people think... I loved her, I was in love with her... I'm just... I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow, I never expected when I got married that it would end like this.. I never thought I would be divorcing her, I never thought I would be doing this... how the hell did this even happen?" Callie sighed as she entered T hotel and started walking up the seventeen flights of stairs so that she didn't have to disconnect the call to use the elevator.

"How DID it end up like this?" Arizona asked cautiously with interest, from what she had heard Callie had married the first person who seemed like a good idea and couldn't keep it in her pants for long enough to make it to their first anniversary. Callie's wife had walked into their house one day to find Callie getting busy with one of her wife's friends before packing a bag and walking out after her wife had announced she wanted a divorce.

"Honestly?" Callie scoffed.

"No Cal, I want you to lie to me!... of course honestly. No judgment, just... please talk to me" Arizona rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling intently as she listened to Callie's labored breath on the other side of the phone, assuming that the brunette was fighting an internal battle as to whether to let go, to trust the blonde and open up or to do what she was used to, do what she was highly skilled at and shut her out and act like nothing was wrong. Arizona remained silent, knowing that Callie needed the time to make the choice by herself without being pressured, and regardless of her choice, Arizona would do what she could to help her.

"It stays between us?" Callie asked eventually, the vulnerability in her voice so evident that it tugged at Arizona's heart.

"I promise Callie, whatever you tell me stays between you and I, you can trust me... give me a chance to prove that to you" Arizona smiled at the triumph of finally getting Callie to trust her with something serious and important.

"Well the first time I realized something was wrong was when I got home from work one night... I had texted her earlier in the evening to tell her that I would probably be staying the night at the office because the shit had hit the fan on a contract and I needed to fix it quickly before my dad found that once again the idiot i hired had messed up... she obviously didn't expect me to get finished up so soon and make it home because I found her in bed with our neighbor... and they weren't sleeping" Callie grimaced as the memory replayed in her mind and she felt the bile rise in the back of her throat.

"Oh Callie..." Arizona was clueless as to what to say, she was speechless and the pain in Callie's voice was breaking her heart.

"Yeah well... anyways so... I didn't even tell her I was there, I just turned around and went back to work and sat in my office all night wondering what the hell I was meant to do. The next day while she was at work I went home and started snooping around... she didn't think to lock down her laptop, probably assumed I would never invade her privacy like that, which in any other situation I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that... let's just say she and her best friend had a great laugh at my expense... apparently while I was falling in love with her and planning our future, she was just in it for the glamour and unrestricted credit card... and whilst I was committed to my marriage and my wife and doing everything I could to learn how to not be the party girl that was all I ever knew, she was committed to sleeping around behind my back with anyone she wanted, male or female, without getting caught... so yeah... after that I was pretty hurt and not really in a good place and I decided it would be a good idea to get some revenge by sleeping with one of her best friends on her precious new couch when I knew she would be arriving home... not my finest moment, I know but I was lost and hurt and angry and I acted out and did the most stupid thing I could do" Callie smiled sadly to herself.

"I'm so sorry I didn't... I didn't know... and now I feel like an even bigger asshole for what I said the other day" Arizona confessed guiltily with a frown.

"Don't worry about it... what you said was true anyway regardless of what she had done we were still married and it was still cheating, even if she did do it first, I should have known better and behaved like an adult not a child" Callie offered, not wanting the blonde to beat herself up over something so trivial.

"No Cal... you can't think like that, you're not being fair to yourself... sure you may have acted out, but you were hurt. Who isn't guilty of making a poor choice with a broken heart. Anyways, she did cheat first... realistically by that point the sanctity of your marriage was already broken" Arizona soothed, wishing that she was near the brunette so she could give her hug, the need to comfort and physically support the woman overtaking her senses and thoughts.

"Maybe... but it IS the truth... I'm still a cheater, something that I have never been" Callie offered bitterly. "she even slept with Cam from accounting... after our break up became public knowledge he came to see me in my office and confided in me what happened and apologized, said he was drunk and bumped into her one weekend and it just happened and he was petrified to say anything because of his job and because he didn't want to be the one that ruined my marriage... poor guy was genuinely petrified that I was going to have him go swimming with the fishes or something... apparently he suspected we Torres' were also some kind of secret mafia" Callie laughed genuinely at the idea.

"So maybe tomorrow if she starts trying to play hardball, we will bluff her about Cam, say that he's willing to testify in court... the only people who will know the truth is the two of us... please say yes, I hate to think of her being able to take advantage of you like that... pleeeeaaaassseeeee Caliopeeeee" Arizona begged hopefully.

"Ok... but promise me that it's only if it gets nasty, I really don't have the energy to drag things out anymore than they already have been... she may have married me for all the wrong reasons but I married her for love and even though my wife is apparently a great big whore, I still loved her and I don't want to cause her unnecessary pain just by being difficult... I already fucked up by acting out of emotion, now I need to be a big girl and do the right thing here" Callie opened her front door and dropped heavily onto her bed before kicking off her shoes and allowing them to drop unceremoniously on the floor.

"You ok?" Arizona asked sadly after a few moments of silence.

"Not really" Callie admitted softly, feeling incredibly vulnerable after opening up so much.

"You know that you have nothing to be ashamed of, right?" Arizona practically begged.

"Hah... I vowed to never let a woman tie me down, and when I broke my own rule I was rewarded with being cheated on repeatedly and used as a personal shopping account... of course that's something to be ashamed of... I'm sure if the press got a hold of the truth of what happened, they would have no trouble in reminding me of all the many, many, many things I have to be ashamed of" Callie scoffed.

"Well you may see it like that... but the way I see it is that some skank saw an opportunity and took advantage of you, she played you to get what she wanted.. That's on her not you Calliope" Arizona soothed.

"Yeah maybe... so tell me... why is it you have never mentioned this mystery girlfriend of yours, is she really away on work or does she not actually exist?" Callie smirked as she tried to change the topic.

"Calliope Torres, are you insinuating that I made my girlfriend up so that you would stop trying to sleep with me?" Arizona laughed, knowing fine well what Callie was trying to do and not feeling like pushing her to keep opening up. If Callie needed a break after opening herself up, Arizona was happy to divulge her.

"Well... I'm just saying it's a bit of a coincidence" Callie scoffed.

"Fine... you opened up for me so I will open up to you, don't make me regret it Torres! We have been together for just under two years, she's an environmentalist and is away working with Greenpeace at the moment. It was only meant to be a three month tour, but it keeps getting extended" Arizona confessed.

"How long has it been since you last saw her?" Callie asked curiously.

"She left around eight months ago. We talk via sat phone once a week when she can, and when she docks we video call when we can get the timing right... but yeah... eight months" Arizona sighed dejectedly.

"You sure you don't want to come vibrator shopping tomorrow? Eight months is a loooooooong time" Callie smirked sensing the blondes upset this time and wanting to turn the conversation back to happier topics and cheer the other woman up, she was rewarded with a bark of laughter from the opposite side of the phone.

"What and let you get a proper visual for that dirty disgusting mind of yours? No thanks" Arizona scoffed as she shook her head at Callies antics.

"How about if I promise to never think about it? You and your sexy matching black lace lingerie and your vibrator will be firmly locked out of my brain... my brain will be a naughty Arizona free zone" Callie grinned, the sound of Arizona's laughter causing a fluttering in her stomach. She couldn't help but smile wider as Arizona's laughter petered out.

"As tempting as you make that offer sound, I think I'm still going to stick with no, I know you well enough by now to know that there is absolutely no way you'll be able to keep that promise" Arizona smirked.

"I really wish I could argue this fact with you but there is no point, you're a pretty damn fine lawyer so I know I won't win" Callie giggled softly.

"Wait... did you... Calliope Iphegenia Torres just admit that you would be thinking about it?" Arizona asked teasingly.

"Are you flirting with me Arizona Michelle Robbins?" Callie scoffed in genuine surprise.

"Do you want me to hang up Cal?" Arizona asked pointedly, a little guilt rising in her when she realized that she actually had been flirting unintentionally. "Wait, how do you know my middle name?" Arizona gasped, hoping to change to topic to safer ground.

"Ok, ok... I'll behave!" Callie grinned when Arizona didn't deny the fact. "And I know things Arizona... I have way's of finding things out... I know a lot more than your middle name, but I just promised to behave, so your dirty little secrets will have to remain locked up in my big dirty mind"

"You promise to behave?" Arizona laughed teasingly.

"If I say no will you still hang up?" Callie grinned, loving the unusual turn their playful banter had taken, it wasn't often that Arizona allowed herself to just be, and have fun and wasn't controlling and careful of everything she said and did..

"I won't lie I probably will... where are you now anyway?" Arizona asked as she eyed the clock and saw that it was approaching four and she was beginning to feel sleepy despite not wanting to end the call and she was beginning to feel sleepy despite not wanting to end the call and she was beginning to feel sleepy despite not wanting to end the call.

"Ummm... I don't want to tell you" Callie grinned.

"Why... Oh god what are you doing now? Please say you aren't say you aren't doing anything that will require me anything that will require me to have to get out of bed to come and bail you out of jail" Arizona giggled.

"Wow... you really have such a low opinion of me, anyway you're a fine one to talk Arizona... how many times have you been arrested exactly?" Callie teased.

"No comment, my lawyer told me to plead the fifth if asked that question... now tell me where you are, you're worrying me" Arizona deflected, her record was a source of embarrassment and shame for her.

"I'm fine... I'm actually at home... in bed now" Callie sighed dramatically.

"Ok... wait... so why exactly didn't you want to tell me that?" Arizona asked full of confusion.

"Umm because you're in your bed... and... I'm in my bed... and... I didn't want you to feel weird or anything" Callie admitted almost shyly and Arizona's heart melted at the consideration and concern coming from the brunette. Something she was definitely unused to seeing.

"That's sweet of you to consider it, but really it's fine... you have called me from many inappropriate places, your bed whilst we are having a serious conversation, isn't one of them... however please feel free to never call me whilst having sex again, that was all kinds of awkward and although it was impressive it was highly inappropriate" Arizona scoffed.

"Another of my not so finest moments... but in my defense, I had already forgotten twice about telling you about the report and it just popped into my head and I didn't want to forget tell you again... I was multitasking" Callie blushed slightly at the memory of the call and the embarrassment that ensured after she realized what she was doing.

"Callie I could hear your skank moaning your name whilst I was making notes... frankly that's not a moment I wish to ever re-enact... please" Arizona felt a shudder erupt down your body as the memory.

"Arizona do you have any idea the kind of skill level required to continue what I was doing, whilst grabbing my phone, whilst calling you, whilst discussing business with you... all at the same time as not letting up on my original moves? You should be nothing less than blown over by how impressive that is, it takes a lot of skill, trust me!" Callie mocked herself, in all honesty she was highly embarrassed by what she had done, but she wasn't going to let anyone know that.

"How about in future we leave the multitasking to outside of a bedroom?" Arizona scoffed.

"I thought you said I was being oversensitive about worrying about calling you right now?" Callie asked in mock confusion.

"Oh Callie, stop trying to confuse me! I told you that this call is fine, I appreciate your concern about crossing the line, I appreciate you respecting me that way... but honestly, I don't deem this inappropriate, we are just talking and you needed a friend and I am happy to be your friend" Arizona sighed tiredly.

"Oh really... so you don't deem this inappropriate, well that's interesting... so whatcha wearing Arizona?" Callie grinned mischievously.

"Good night Calliope" Arizona fought her smirk even though Callie would never be able to see it.

"I'm joking, I'm joking!" Callie guffawed before sobering and smiling into the darkness. "Thank you for the talk Arizona... it really meant alot"

"It's fine... next time can we do it at a more reasonable hour though?" Arizona smiled into the darkness before she closed her eyes.

"that depends"

"on?"

"If you're going to tell me what you're wearing right now?" Callie laughed again before Arizona even had a chance to respond.

"And that sweet person I was talking to five minutes ago is gone and the pig is back" Arizona scoffed.

"Hey! I resent that" Callie pouted.

"I'm sure you do... goodnight Callie" Arizona laughed.

"Wait before you go... about tomorrow..." Callie trailed off with a nervous tone to her voice.

"Yeah" Arizona asked softly.

"Do you still want to go shopping afterwards?" Callie smirked.

"I really hate you sometimes... buy your own damn vibrator Calliope!" Arizona laughed.

"But you have much better taste than I do" Callie whined playfully.

"Well that's something that we can both agree on that" Arizona giggled. "Seriously... get some sleep and I will see you in the morning, try and be on time please!"

"Sure thing... and all joking aside... thanks for being a really good friend tonight" Callie said so sincerely that Arizona almost thought she had imagined it.

"You're welcome Calliope... sweet dreams" Arizona smiled.

"Sweet Dreams Arizona... try your hardest not to dream of me, I know I'm asking for the impossible, but at least try" Callie smirked.

"You always have to spoil it, don't you" Arizona chided with a grin.

"Yet you didn't deny that it was a possibility... tell me, have you ever dreamed of me?" Callie smirked hopefully.

"Yes... I dreamt that I worked for a normal person who respected boundaries and didn't harass me at all times of night and day" Arizona scoffed.

"Wow... well that's some really vivid imagination you have there" Callie laughed.

"You have no idea how vivid my imagination can be" Arizona grinned before realizing what she had said and how flirty it sounded.

"Oh really... so you admit it, you do have a dirty mind?" Callie laughed as she could literally hear Arizona's embarrassment emanating through the phone and couldn't help but tease her about it.

"Good night Calliope" Arizona deadpanned.

"Ok... just one more thing though" Callie tried to hide her smirk.

"Calliope, I am not telling you what I am wearing!" Arizona scoffed.

"It scares me how well you know me sometimes" Callie grinned.

"Good night!" Arizona laughed.

"Night Arizona, sleep well" Callie smiled before disconnecting the call and putting her phone on the side table with a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N - Dedicated to AshleyMburns and Mientosz for keeping me entertained throughout the night whilst I have been proofreading endless chapters, here is your reward... a third chapter in a 24 hour period!

ALxxx

-oOo-

"I'm sure she'll be here any minute now, there was an issue with some zoning permits that she had to deal with early this morning to meet a permit deadline, she must have gotten held up" Arizona smiled tightly at the stuffy lawyer and the 'playboy bunny wannabe' opposite her.

She couldn't believe that this was the kind of woman that Callie would fall in love with and marry... sure she wasn't ugly, but she was far from attractive. She was good looking in that porn star kind of way, in a forced and heavily made up way. Not at all what Arizona pictured Callie to settle down with, she imagined the brunette with someone elegant and classy, someone that would challenge her and keep her on her toes, not... well... do all kinds of dirty things to her toes, and that's exactly what this woman looked like she would do, she was well aware how jealous she sounded, but she was concerned about her friend and if this was the kind of woman her heart was attracted to, then Callie was in big trouble.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, did I miss the special occasion?" Callie flauntered into the room full of confidence, all traces of the woman Arizona had spoken to last night were gone. Callie smiled a disinterested smile at her soon to be ex wife and Mr Jackson, her lawyer who were throwing daggers at her. "Kara, I see you have had a bit of a makeover, this look really suits your personality" Callie forced a sweet smile as she glared at her ex and hid her shock at the slutty look she was wearing, something she definitely never used to wear when they met.

"Callie, do me a favor and check with me before you speak" Arizona muttered in the brunettes ear after she had dumped herself in the chair next to her as if she didn't have a care in the world. Callie nodded and offered a sheepish half smile to the blonde.

"Now that we are all FINALLY here, I would like to discuss the settlement terms" Kara's lawyer spoke, giving Callie a pointed look of disgust, not in the slightest afraid of making a point of letting the brunette know that she had kept them all waiting.

"The terms have already been set and signed by both of our clients Mr Jackson, it's commonly referred to as a pre-nup, I'm sure your client remembers signing it prior to her marriage to my client" Arizona eyed the pompous man icily, ignoring the smirk she could see Callie giving her from the side of her eye. If there was one thing Callie appreciated and always got a kick out of, it was Arizona's feisty side.

"And as we both know Ms. Robbins, pre-nup's come with certain clauses in them..." Kara's lawyer smirked as he saw Callie glance at Arizona questioningly and with a little worry.

"In plain English please... although if it suits you I can follow in Spanish or French" Arizona offered a 'fuck you' smile and desperately tried ignoring the amused snort that just escaped Callie, she couldn't let Callie's amusement get to her and crack a smile, now was not the time.

"My client would like double the alimony" the stuffy lawyer smarmed as he ignored the attitudes coming from the two women opposite him.

"Oh I am sure she does... I'm also sure that she understands the pre-nup she sighed" Arizona glanced at Callie's soon to be ex wife who was playing with her fingernails in disinterest and she couldn't help but shake her head in anger at the woman who had broken Callie's heart.

"Given the circumstances surrounding the demise of the marriage I hardly think it is an unfair request to make" Mr Jackson smirked.

"I'm assuming you're referring to the alleged infidelity?" Arizona asked tightly as she studied the woman opposite her for any sign of actually caring about what was happening in the room or any form of remorse for hurting the brunette next to her.

"Alleged?" Kara spoke up for the first time. "She was fucking my best friend on our couch!" She spat angrily as she glared at Arizona, refusing to look at her wife.

"Well I didn't want to be disrespectful by banging her in our bed, I'm not completely heartless" Callie scoffed before shrinking into her chair slightly when she received a death glare from Arizona. Callie offered a sheepish smile and gave Arizona a wink, hoping that the blonde would understand her message that she was over this entire thing.

"So what you're claiming is, infidelity is worth twice the alimony?" Arizona asked turning her attention back to Mr Jackson and raising her eyebrow challengingly.

"Yes of course, I'm sure if you were more focussed on the case and not on childminding your client you would be aware of that" Mr Jackson smiled thinking that Arizona was admitting defeat, he had done his job well and won his client what she wanted.

"Well going by that token, any infidelity on your clients behalf would have to held against her in a monetary fashion also, correct?" Arizona turned her gaze to Callie's wife and stared her down with disgust as the woman feigned innocence.

"I'm sorry, what exactly are you insinuating?" Mr Jackson scoffed irritably as he ignored his clients head snapping to attention before glaring at Callie questioningly.

"That the Mrs Kara Torres used company resources for private matters... and from the statement we have signed and ready to hand over to a judge, it wasn't numbers the company accountant was drilling that night" Arizona smirked proudly when she saw the shocked and scared expression on Callie's exes face.

"I have loyal employees, what can I say? I think it's the health plan and all the bonuses" Callie snorted in proud amusement of Arizona's joke, loving seeing this feisty side of the blonde.

"Oh the health plan is wonderful!" Arizona smiled at Callie offering her a subtle wink that told Callie a silent promise that the blonde had her back and wasn't going to let her wife or the lawyer screw her over or make her look bad.

"Thank you, it's important to us at T.I. that we are loyal to the people who commit to work with us" Callie smiled at Arizona playfully, biting back her grin when she saw the amusement in the sparkling cerulean eyes still watching her before the blonde turned her attention back to the proceedings.

"We will not agree to pay anything outside of the…" Arizona trailed off as Callie intereupted her, she spun to face her in shock when she heard the first few words slip between those plump lips.

"We will pay the alimony and we will sign over the house so you can keep it all to yourself... as long as you release me from any further obligation of our marital agreement" Callie said diplomatically, ignoring the confused look on Arizona's face.

"You fucking bitch Callie!" Kara screamed as she jumped from her seat, grabbed her glass of water and threw it's contents over Callie, who didn't flinch not wanting to give the woman she once loved the satisfaction of getting upset at being soaked with water.

"Watch your language or you will not get the estate or the alimony Mrs Torres!" Arizona snapped furiously as she removed her gaze from the drenched brunette beside her, seeing that Callie wanted to play it by acting as if it hadn't happened and respecting that, she could question if she was ok and help her dry off once they were out of sight of the ex and her asshole lawyer.

"Don't you DARE call me that god awful name! You're just another one of her fucking dumb bimbo's that she is probably paying in orgasms" Kara glared at Arizona, her nostrils flaring in anger.

"Hah, Ms Robbins is far from a bimbo... not that she or her credentials owe any explanation to you, but she finished at the top of her class at Harvard. Her IQ probably tops your's, mine and your charming lawyer's IQ combined... jealousy really doesn't suit you sweetheart" Callie scoffed as she edged forward in her chair, knowing what was about to come and wanting to be prepared as she saw Kara edging towards the jug of water as her eyes glared at the blonde.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you Kara, some people may not be as forgiving as I am when it come's to your shit" Callie warned in a tone Arizona had never heard before. She glanced at the brunette who was staring at her wife with eyes full of fury as Kara stared back shocked at her wife's warning, Callie had never spoken to her like that before with so much venom and threat in her voice. Reluctantly, knowing that she had been beat, she dropped into her chair dramatically and glared at Callie pointedly whilst crossing her arms angrily.

"Just sign the fucking papers Callie so I can finally be free of you" Kara snarled.

"My pleasure sweetheart… ladies first" Callie started to slide the docket towards Kara before pulling it back and signing it whilst trying to bite back a snort of amusement and trying to disguise her smirk at having gotten one last cheap shot in. Once all parts were signed she pushed it with gusto so that the stack of papers would reach across to the other side of the desk dramatically, swallowing the stab of pain in her heart as she watched the redhead add her signatures to the papers, ending their sham of a marriage… well a sham from Kara's side anyway.

-oOo-

"Why did you give her the house?" Arizona asked softly with no judgment as they walked out of the legal office and onto the busy New York sidewalk, she could tell the brunette wasn't in the best of moods and quizzing her right now probably wasn't the best idea, but she couldn't help herself, her curiosity was piqued.

"Why not? It's tainted with bad memories, and let's be honest she would never have accepted the alimony alone... anyway you are the one that keeps telling me that I have a responsibility to those who aren't as fortunate as me" Callie offered with a shrug, trying not to let the anger bubbling deep within her at her now ex wife's antics come across and be misdirected at the blonde.

"Callie, everyone is less fortunate than you... why give it to that gold digger? All she is going to do is sell the house and spend the money at the nearest plastic surgeon" Arizona scoffed with more irritation than she intended.

"Oh I get it Arizona... you want me to be generous but only to those of whom YOU approve of and for the causes which you judge worthy enough?" Callie asked in annoyance, shaking her head in frustration at how pig headed the blonde could be at times.

"What I want Callie, is to be allowed to do my job and to do it to the best of my ability" Arizona sniped back.

"You did your job Arizona, this morning I was married to a 'gold digger' and now I am a divorced to a 'gold digger', you did your job by the textbook" Callie forced a smile as she stopped at a hot dog stand and ordered two dogs, the urge for something greasy to soothe the sadness overtaking her. She handed over a hundred dollar bill, smiling at the vendor and telling him to keep the change before walking away, the elation at the $95 tip on the vendors face instantly lightening her mood slightly. She handed Arizona a dog with combined tomato ketchup and mustard squirted on the meat before the double serve of fried onions were laid on top. Just the way Arizona loved it, something not many people knew about Arizona. Had the blonde not been distracted by Callie's anger she would have been pleasantly surprised to find Callie knew the right way to present her hot dog.

"Callie stop acting like a spoiled brat with me and just admit that your upset and hurt right now, you don't need to act like this around me, you don't need to wear the Callie Torres mask... just allow yourself to just be yourself" Arizona sighed in frustration.

"Jesus Arizona, what do you want from me? Yes I am upset, but what good is being upset going to do me? If it bothers you that much in future I will make sure the next time I allow someone into my heart and they want to stamp all over it, I will get someone else to fix the mess I didn't ask for" Callie scoffed.

"You are unfairly projecting your anger onto me Calliope" Arizona warned.

"No, I'm angry and you are doing nothing but winding me up so I'm projecting my anger for you at you for annoying me" Callie scoffed.

"You know what Calliope... if you want to bitch and whine like a child go right ahead, but do it without me... when the Calliope who acts like a real person… you know the real person who was pouring her heart out to me last night? When she decides that she wants to talk... give me a call because her, I have time for, yeah?" Arizona glared at the brunette before storming away and ignoring the few people whose attention she had caught with her outburst.

"Arizona... wait" Callie called out, shocked when the blonde actually stopped and turned towards her expectantly, she couldn't help but make her way towards her slowly with her head hung low like a naughty child approaching a parent and awaiting a scolding and grounding.

"Yes Calliope? Did you have something you wanted to say?" Arizona deadpanned, playing along with Callies naughty child act.

"I'm not good at feelings alright? I'm sorry I was a ginormous bitch to you... and if you allow me, I would really like to hang out with you today and make it up to you... if you don't already have plans?" Callie offered a small hopeful smile.

"Apology accepted, but I'm still not going vibrator shopping with you" Arizona rolled her blue eyes in mock annoyance, hoping to diffuse the tension that had fallen between them since leaving the divorce proceeding.

"I wasn't even going to suggest it... mainly because I didn't think the option was on the table" Callie smirked shyly.

"Come on, you can buy me a proper lunch... but no more childish spats, if you need to get something off your chest I am happy to help but only if you do it in a mature way" Arizona warned with a playful pout

"Is it too soon for me to crack a joke about you asking me to remove something from my chest in a mature way?" Callie raised her eyebrow slowly, smiling when Arizona couldn't contain her laugh.

"You're such a pig" blue eyes rolled mockingly.

"I can't help it! it's your fault, you bring it out in me, it's like the second you're around my mind turns into a big pile of dirty mush" Callie laughed as she shoulder bumped the blonde in jest.

"Quit flirting Torres!" Arizona whined.

"Ok, ok... no more flirting" Callie smiled as she raised her hands in mock surrender.

"Really? Just like that your going to start to behave and not flirt with me like you're a shipwrecked survivor who has been stranded on a desert island for a decade and I'm the only woman around" Arizona with an eyebrow raised disbelievingly with a hint of jest.

"Well I wouldn't go that far, I mean I can try but I wouldn't hold out hope in me being successful" Callie laughed.

"I hate you" Arizona scoffed, picking up her pace and walking away, smiling when Callie ran to catch up to her and fell into step alongside her, something the tall brunette who lived in heels never did.

"So... you know how I'm all angry and upset after the divorce?" Callie asked in a subdued voice, glancing at Arizona and watching as the blonde nodded and smiled softly and empathically in her direction. "Do you know what would really cheer me up?" Callie asked hopefully.

"What's that?" Arizona asked with interest.

"What were you wearing to bed last night while we were talking?" Callie smirked hopefully.

"Nice try pervert!" Arizona grinned as she shook her head in amusement.


	8. Chapter 8

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join together Henry and Theodora in holy matrimony…" Arizona watched on as her best friend, looking so very beautiful stood beside her staring lovingly and longingly into her very soon to be husbands eyes. And although she was filled with happiness for her life long friend, she couldn't help but feel a little sad. She wasn't jealous, she just wondered when it would be her turn.

She loved Joanne, or at least she was pretty sure she did. If Jo was home more… or just home period, she would be able to get a better read on their relationship. She loved her before she had left, promising to be gone for just three months and then returning to pick up where they had left off, but three months had turned into almost nine months.

Hell she had a more interactive relationship with Callie, her boss, than she did with her Jo, her own girlfriend, which was all kinds of wrong considering Callie paid her which made her sound like an escort, well Callie paid her a lot which made her sound like a high end escort. Suddenly her mind was filled with the image of herself in an over elaborate red cocktail dress reaching into a black velvet necklace box besides a grand piano whilst Callie mockingly closed the lid on her fingers causing her to emit something between a shriek and a guffaw whilst Callie looked on adoringly.

Shaking her head and scoffing at herself for imagining her and Callie in the 'Pretty Woman' scene, she tried to focus back on the ceremony when a shrill ringing emitted from her clutch and her eyes slammed shut in embarrassment and horror. She knew that ringtone, it was Callie, and she had expressly told the brunette that she was maid of honor today and would be out of reach for the day, she cursed herself for not having the thought to turn off her cell completely, or at the very least have silenced it.

"Is that your phone Arizona?" Teddy asked with a combination of horror at the interruption, embarrassment for her friend having every eye in the room on her, annoyance at her friend not thinking to silence her phone for just this one time and sheer amusement at the absolute mortification on her best friends face.

"I'm sorry... please continue" Arizona begged, her eyes portraying a silent plea of apology for ruining the moment, but the loud 'ding' erupted from her clutch announcing a message had been received. Before a second 'ding' erupted. By this point Teddy was having to bite back her snort of laughter at the complete devastation on the shorter blondes face.

With another apologetic smile, she grabbed her phone with the intent to silence it so it couldn't further interrupt the vows, only as the screen lit up it dinged a third time, as she unlocked it she saw a message from, of course, Callie Torres reading '911 SOS'.

"Oh god, Teddy I am so, so very sorry but it's an emergency" Arizona glanced at her best friend's crestfallen expression that she was about to run out in the middle of the most important day of her life and her heart broke.

"Go and sort it and come straight back! Don't be long Arizona!" Teddy hissed into her ear, understanding but hurt all the same.

"Please continue… I promise I will be back as soon as I can, I promise" Arizona glanced between Teddy, Henry and the Minister and felt terrible… and completely embarrassed, mortally embarrassed.

"Hold this for me" Arizona thrust her bouquet into the other bridesmaid, Teddy's only female cousin who her mother had all but forced her to include in the ceremony, hand before she dashed back down the aisle, trying her best to ignore the shocked and disgusted faces watching her but she wasn't oblivious to the head shakes and whispers.

Once situated in the yellow cab and on route to T Hotel hoping that's where she could find the brunette, she grabbed her phone and dialed the brunette, bouncing her knee with impatience.

"Come on Cal, pick up your damn phone!" Arizona muttered to herself in frustration as her mind ran through all the possibilities of what the emergency could be. Callie knew she was at a very important wedding today after all she had given her enough stick about whether her bridesmaid dress was going to big and puffy and bright pink with a huge bow on her ass, which meant whatever it was that required their 911 SOS code word HAD to be an emergent situation.

Perhaps it had something to do with the construction permits she had submitted, they were filed well before their deadline but that didn't mean that an error had not been detected which was now going to put the entire build in jeopardy, which meant a risk to the preservation of the Coney Island Community Center.

Arriving at the hotel she thrust a fifty dollar bill in the cabbies hand and jumped out, not even bothering to await her change. She thanked the door man as he held the door open for her and dashed directly towards the stairs, not wanting to risk delay by waiting for the elevator to arrive, which would surely stop at every floor on the way down and back up before reaching the 17th floor penthouse that Callie called home.

"Calliope?" Arizona yelled out of breath from running the seventeen flights of stairs before letting herself straight into Callie's apartment with her spare key without even waiting to knock.

"Help! I'm in the closet" Callie yelled and Arizona's heart slumped when she realized that Callie's voice held no trace of worry, pain or fear.

"Callie?" Arizona asked as she eyed the brunette who was inspecting two dresses that were hanging face on from her motorized hanging rack. The first was red, just above knee length and dipped at the cleavage. The second was black, around mid thigh length with off the shoulder sleeves.

"Wow… you're a bit over dressed for a Saturday morning…." Callie eyed Arizona from head to toe then back again before returning her attention to the two dresses. "Anyway I'm judging the Miss New York pageant in a little over an hour and I have narrowed it down to these two… but it's a televised event and I want to look my best especially with the focus on T.I. at the moment with the Coney Towers project, which one do you think I should wear?"

"Calliope Iphegenia Torres, DO NOT tell me that you just called me out of my oldest and bestest friends wedding to chit chat about which dress will make you look hotter for some silly little beauty contest!" Arizona gasped, blinking her eyes a few times to make sure she was really seeing this, flinching as she pinched her own thigh in an attempt to wake herself up from what she prayed was yet another dream of Callie and her antics, something that had been happening more and more frequently lately.

"Wedding? Wait you ran out of your best friends wedding? Arizona that's horrible, why would you do that?" Callie spun with wide eyes to look at the blonde in shock.

"Callie, you txted 911 SOS, that means it is an emergency. Did we or did we not discuss what constitutes as an emergency and would require a 911 SOS text?" Arizona whined as she thrust her hands on her hips angrily as she stared down the brunette.

"Of course, you were very adamant and frankly a little scary when hammering the five scenarios into my head… a nuclear attack, civil war, a natural disaster that would directly impact the location I am in, severe blood loss and…. Dammit... Wait… Don't tell me, it will come to me…" Callie trailed off thoughtfully, biting the corner of her bottom lip as she wracked her brain for the last piece of the puzzle.

"Death Calliope… do you feel dead right now because you certainly don't look it" Arizona snapped.

"No… not dead... yet, the way you are looking at me right now has me a little scared that the time is very near though, I will admit…" Callie offered nervously as she eyed the fury in the blondes eyes.

"No Calliope, not dead… just like you weren't dead when you called me at two am so I could try and hook up for you… or when I flew to your holiday villa in Miami only to find that you worked out how to turn the hot tub on for yourself and didn't need me anymore… or the time you called me at one am because you had a dream about becoming the sixth member of the 'Spice Girls' and didn't want to be known as Senorita Spice and were scared that Mel B was going to kick your ass for ruining her position of being the only ethnic minority… Or the time you barged in on my gyno appointment to ask me whether I thought you should consider opening up a restaurant that only served deserts..." Arizona fumed.

"In my defense you really seemed to love that idea once you had covered up your vajayjay…" Callie offered meekly hoping to break Arizona's rant.

"I'm done Calliope… we're done here… oh and wear the black one, you always look more sophisticated and elegant in black, and that will be my final piece of advice for you" Arizona spun on her heel and made for the apartment door, determined to get back to the wedding in hopes she could catch the end of the ceremony.

"Wait… hold on just a damn second, what the hell do you mean that your done and that's your final piece of advice?" Callie could feel the panic rising within her.

"Look Calliope, you got Coney Towers and I got the Community Center. We both got something important out of this, so why don't we just leave it at that… I just... Callie I just can't take it anymore" Arizona sighed as she turned to Callie and was a little surprised to see the confusion and hurt in the brunettes big brown eyes and forced herself to remain strong.

"You can't be serious, you are joking right… is this one of your weird brainiac jokes that I don't get because your way smarter than me? Normally I would just play along and laugh so you don't think I'm so much dumber than you… but I really don't get the joke here… so tell me your joking right now, please tell me you're joking Arizona" Callie pleaded, subconsciously taking several steps closer to the blonde and reaching out to take the pale hands in her own.

"I'm serious Calliope, please consider this my official resignation, I will have it in writing and in your inbox before the end of the day" Arizona felt deflated, although Callie drove her insane, completely crazy, there were definitely some aspects of working with the brunette that she was going to miss.

The two women stood staring at each other for several long moments, neither speaking as they were completely unsure of what to say. Callie was lost in her thoughts as she tried to come to terms with what the blonde had just said and the ramifications of her resignation and Arizona still fuming from Callie's latest stunt and if she was honest with herself she was furious at herself for allowing the brunette to be successful, and if she was honest with herself she was a little hurt at what had just transpired.

"You know what Arizona, you are just.. You're really ungrateful sometimes, I mean, you are incredible and miraculous in so many ways but there is this one big flaw that shines through and it shines so brightly that it is blinding" Callie snapped having eventually felt the silence begin to strangle her.

"Wait… I'm sorry… did you just accuse me of being ungrateful?" Arizona shrieked in shock, her voice laced with anger.

"Yes Arizona…. Ungrateful and frankly, stubborn as a bull" Callie crossed her arms defiantly over her chest.

"Ungrateful?" Arizona asked again, completely unable to accept the gall of the brunette and her accusations.

"Yes, ungrateful, Arizona. I pick you up off the street and hire you with absolutely no corporate experience at a great risk to T.I., I give you a great salary, decent bonuses, the health care you admitted yourself was excellent! I even gave you an apartment paid for by the company, a great office… which I upgraded to a better office with a fantastic view most people would die for the benefit to see just once, never mind work with it as their backdrop! I even have an array of donuts and coffee from your favorite delicatessen delivered by an intern to your desk every morning…"

"Calliope, that isn't the point and... and you know it!" Arizona scoffed in annoyance, although she couldn't deny any of Callie's claims, she had taken care of her professionally and made her more than comfortable in many ways, and the donuts had started after Callie caught her crying after yet another missed call from Jo and when asked what she could do to help Arizona had asked for coffee and donuts as it was the only things that would help her make it through the day, and since that day, Arizona had received a delivery from the best store in New York City at ten in the morning every single day without fail, and the store didn't even do deliveries, or take out. It was a personal favor from Callie, something that was extremely sweet and thoughtful and was very much appreciated.

"Ok well tell me this Arizona, because I may not have an IQ that reaches as high into the sky as yours, but I also aren't exactly dumb as you know but…. If all of this bothers you so much tell me why exactly do you keep your phone on?" Callie asked pointedly and watched as Arizona's mouth gaped before she attempted to provide the first excuse she could drum up, but Callie for saw what was coming.

"AND why do you leave the volume on?" Callies eyebrow rose purposefully as Arizona stuttered to try and throw any excuse out of her mouth "AND not just on... but at FULL volume" she added pointedly and watched as Arizona squirmed to find an excuse.

"It's because you crave being needed Arizona! You crave to be the best at everything and make you sure everything is perfect because of your type A personality and… and you know what, I'm to blame for that because I used to be this confident woman who was capable of choosing things for myself and making my own decisions… I could choose what dress I wanted to wear or what type of damn bed I wanted to buy, but now I can't... now I'm addicted to you and your opinions, I HAVE to know what you think, so what DO you think?" Callie didn't know whether she was yelling or pleading, and she didn't particularly care, if it convinced Arizona to stay then she would embarrass herself several times over, as long as the blonde she depended on stayed put.

"You want to know what I think Calliope? I think you are the most selfish and self centered woman on this planet" Arizona spat, pissed at Callie for duping her to leave her best friends wedding, pissed at Callie for all her antics over the last few months. Pissed at Callie for making such accurate claims about her personality and work ethic and pissed at Callie for saying such wonderful things despite being a spoiled brat sometimes. She was just... pissed.

"Well that's just ridiculous Arizona, I mean... have you met every woman on this planet?" Callie asked, instantly berating herself for falling back on her usual sarcastic and inappropriately timed humor as a defense mechanism.

"Goodbye Calliope, I have a wedding to get back to" Arizona sighed, turning and marching from the luxury apartment and swinging the door so hard that it not only slammed in a way that echoed throughout the apartment and outside halls but shook the walls that surrounded Callie as she stood staring at the now vacant space wondering what the hell had just happened and how it had erupted so rapidly.


	9. Chapter 9

"I did it Jo, I finally quit!" Arizona smiled as she curled up on her couch in the apartment she would soon have to move out of. "she called me out of Teddy's wedding to help her pick a dress for a beauty competition... I mean… I'll never get that moment back and she didn't care at all, wasn't even bothered, hell she didn't even apologize when I turned up at her apartment in my bridesmaid dress and she realized in fact she didn't realize I had to explain it to her… and she just carried on… business as usual because god forbid Calliope Torres would take two moments out of her busy schedule to consider another person or their needs or feelings!" Arizona felt another wave of anger wash over her as she replayed the argument with Callie in her mind, especially the backhanded compliments she was paid.

"Ok" Jo replied completely bored as Arizona's rant continued, but the blonde was too wrapped up her musings to notice that she was the only one showing any interest in the topic. They had been on the phone for a little under ten minutes so far and Jo had provided less than a dozen words total, most of them being one word answers or sounds of mild disinterest to keep the conversation flowing.

"I'm going to set up some interviews at some law firms and see if I can get into a company that will value me and treat me as a respected employee. I'm sure with a reference from Callie…"

"Yeah ok, just give me a minute" Jo interrupted her and Arizona furrowed her brow as she heard a woman that wasn't her girlfriend reply on the other end of the line before Jo giggled rather girlishly.

"Jo?" Arizona asked as a sense of unease washed over her.

"Zo we're shipping out now so I've gotta go, but you look after yourself and don't let that bully drag you down" Jo offered distracetly.

"Oh… ok… but I thought we had some time to chat?" Arizona asked disappointedly.

"Yeah sorry… when the 'Peace calls you don't keep them waiting" Jo offered smugly and Arizona heard the unknown woman exageratedly giggle through the line, obviously finding Jo's joke hilarious and charming.

"Right… I''ll see you in two months then when your tour is finally over?" Arizona asked sadly, Jo had just informed her that she had been 'requested' on a two month tour, once again extending her stay away from home and Arizona couldn't help but wonder if her girlfriend would ever make it home at this point, or whether she even wanted to come home to her.

"Umm, yeah sure… listen I've gotta go" Jo said quickly.

"Ok… stay safe Jo, I love you" Arizona smiled sadly.

"Will do... bye" and then the line was dead. Arizona pulled the mobile away from her ear and looked at the blank screen in disbelief. Had her girlfriend really hung up without telling her that she loved her? That was certainly new… and it hurt. But she did sound like a lot was going on around her, she was certainly distracted and sounded rushed so it was probably nothing, she was just looking too much into it.

-oOo-

Arizona's morning and afternoon had been torturous. She had lined up three appointments with firms in hopes of being offered a job by at least one of them, however with each meeting her day and mood had rapidly declined.

The first interview hadn't been too bad, in fact she had left feeling like she may have a job opportunity in the future, should Callie ever loosen her sharpened claws and allow her the respect she deserved.

Meeting one:

"Thank you for taking the time to speak with me Mr Webber, I am really looking forward to a new challenge and your firm has the optimal blend of public and private interest law. I really believe that we could work really well together and make big things happen for your firm" Arizona smiled at the African American man sat opposite her, watching her wearily.

"Miss Robbins, I would be remiss if I didn't admit that your resume is outstanding, and in any other circumstance I would be pulling out all of the stops to get you on the payroll. However as you know, we do a remarkable amount of business with Torres Industries..." Richard Webber trailed off hoping that the blonde would get the picture and not make him outright say it.

"I am aware of that and T.I. certainly thinks very highly of your company which is why I approached your firm in the first place. I believe it will also aid your firm that I have close contacts within T.I. at all levels and within all departments" Arizona smiled, popping her dimples. She knew where Mr Webber was going with his comment but she had to at least try and convince him to make her an offer of employment.

"Look Arizona, may I be frank with you?" Richard asked nervously.

"Of course, I would appreciate your honesty" Arizona bit back the smile when she imagined the joke about him being Richard not Frank, or other some such immature joke that Callie would have pulled before shaking her head in annoyance. Callie Torres is not funny or charming, she is selfish and a pain in my ass!

"Callie called me this morning and informed me that she had heard that you were reaching out and looking to move on from T.I., but that you're indispensable to them over there and I'm sorry but I can't in good faith offer you a position that may have a negative impact on Mercy and Grace Construction"

By the time she reached the second meeting just prior to lunch, she was feeling a little disillusioned, yet still hopeful, however twenty minutes later that hope was fading quickly.

Meeting 2:

"I'm sorry Miss Robbins but we aren't hiring" Arizona felt her heart drop again, for the second time that day out of two meetings.

"I'm sorry but if you're not hiring, then why exactly did you agree to meet with me?" Arizona asked, trying her hardest to keep the hostility and annoyance from her voice and remain professional.0

"Well when we agreed to meet with you we weren't exactly sure of who you were, but since our initial conversation and perusing your resume and credentials… well, we are partners with Mercy and Grace Construction and they do millions of dollars with Torres Industries annually.

"Let me guess… you spoke to Miss Torres and she doesn't want you to hire me?" Arizona asked pointedly, no longer caring to beat around the bush and not being at all surprised when Mr Dean nodded apologetically.

Arizona had left the firm fuming, what right did Callie Torres have to black list her, after everything she had done for the brunette. At least her third meeting of the day had no affiliation or ties to T.I. they weren't even in the same business sector so there could be no excuses.

Meeting 3:

"The attorney who was planning to quit has broken up with his long distance girlfriend and is no longer planning to emigrate to Canada, I'm terribly sorry but that means that we no longer have a position to fill" Mr Greene offered an apologetic smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"When did she call?" Arizona sighed, her patience now none existent and in its place was anger, annoyance, frustration and … and... and a ton more anger.

"I'm sorry, when did who call?" the ageing man asked and Arizona eyed him pointedly, not willing to even pretend that she was buying his lie's.

"Callie Torres, when did the she-devil call to tell you not to employ me?" Arizona snapped.

"Oh... erm... Ms Torres... she didn't call" Mr Greene offered with a stutter as he glanced away nervously. God knows how he lied in court if this was how he lied in an unimportant interview.

"Tell me WHEN Mr Greene!" Arizona demanded in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Perhaps twenty minutes before you arrived" Mr Greene confessed ashamed, jumping in shock when Arizona leaped from her chair and stormed from the office without another word.

To say that she was pissed with Callie was a gross understatement, she was furious, beyond furious in fact, there wasn't even a word for what she was feeling right now. She grabbed her phone and clicked several buttons until she entered Callies daily planner, rolling her eyes when she discovered that Callie was at her monthly spa day instead of working. Obviously calling around and forcing people to refuse her employment had been exhausting and stressful for poor Callie.

Twenty minutes later she jumped out of the cab and marched into the building which housed several floors of treatments ranging from the heated indoor pool and gym on the ground floor, through to massages, beauty treatments and even holistic treatments.

"I need to speak to Ms Torres, im her PA. She told me to come down here and meet her I just need pointing in the right direction" Arizona forced a smile on her face as she lied to the receptionist.

"She's in a beauty treatment at the moment on the fifth floor in room 502 if you wait outside she should be with you in around half an hour" the facility receptionist offered with a smile, but Arizona had already turned to leave the second she had heard the word 502, grumbling in annoyance that Callie of course would be getting a beauty treatment at a time like this, probably having her nails painted or some other such nonsense. She entered the elevator, hitting the fifth floor button with vigor and waited impatiently to arrive.

The second the doors slid open she marched purposefully into the corridor and scanned the doors in the luxurious hallway for the number she was searching for, completely ignoring all the high end posters on the walls advertising various types of waxing products that the business used and sold.

Finding room 502 she stormed into the room not stopping for a moment to think about knocking, she just entered with murder in her eyes to find Callie Torres spread eagle and naked from the waist down with a middle aged Filipino woman between her legs holding a wooden popsicle stick covered in a dark amber wax.

"All that waxing down there and I only just feel a pain in my ass when you walk in the room" Callie mused with a smug smile, trying to hide her discomfort at the view Arizona must be receiving.

"I am unemployable Calliope! You called everyone apart from Chuck E Cheese!" Arizona snapped as she began to pace up and down the room, ignoring the woman between Callie's legs who upon seeing Callie not jump up in horror at being disturbed and instead begin conversing with the intruder, got back to work doing Callie's landscaping.

"That's not true… I did call Chuck E Cheese… they didn't want you, they mentioned that they had heard about your attitude and bad temper and had decided you werent Cheesie material" Callie smirked before wincing as a strip of hair was removed in one swift yank before eyeing the blonde to see a sadistic smile on her face at seeing her boss in actual physical pain at this exact moment.

"We should conduct more of our meetings here, there is something therapeutic about seeing you wince in pain like a little baby" Arizona smirked before continuing her pacing.

"Hey… how about you pace up over here at this end of the table" Callie suggested as she noticed how close Arizona was getting to where she really didn't want her presence, not in this setting anyway.

"Oh I'm sorry Calliope are you concerned about your modesty? God forbid I should see you with your legs spread open and exposed Calliope… that would be embarrassing... wouldn't it!" Arizona scoffed referring to her gynecologist appointment that Callie had barged in on and received a showcase of Arizona in all of her glory. Arizona stepped slowly and menacingly towards Callies exposed center her eyebrow raised challengingly, her blue eyes never leaving brown.

"You know what Arizona… go ahead, if you want to take a peek so badly be my guest. You are, after all, the one who keeps denying how much you want me… however you're also the one who seem's to be creeping oh so very close, and seems to be so very desperate for a look at what I have going on down there" Callie smirked before closing her eyes arrogantly and resting her head back against the pillow whilst waiting for Arizona's next move when she felt the hot wax being spread rapidly on her pubic bone against the small tidy patch she kept there to avoid the 'little girl' look and flinched in a panic.

She opened her eyes wide in horror just in time to see Arizona bent over her nether region and rip the strip up expertly causing Callie to shriek out in pain as her body jumped from her bed at the complete shock at such a large, unexpected and well… hairy patch being plucked from her body in one fell swoop.

"Oh you have NO IDEA just how truly therapeutic that felt!" Arizona mocked with a proud smirk as she watched Callie jump out of her skin before resting with her forearms on the table and panting hard in a bid to break free from the pain whilst glaring at her giggling waxist who was finding Arizona's antics far too hilarious for someone who she was paying far too much money to be experiencing the Callie and Arizona show.

"Really Arizona?... really?… you DO realize that your little therapeutic moment could be considered assault!" Callie scoffed as she turned her daggers from the now silent and meek waxist to the blonde who shrugged happily, not in the slightest worried or threatened by Callie's comment, too busy basking in the amusement and pleasure of getting one up on the brunette regardless of how impulsive and immature the move was.

"An assault charge would be worth it right now... anyways, it's about time I added a new charge to my rap sheet… I have been a good girl for far too long and I would HATE for people to think I am going soft.… do you want me to even that up for you?… you look like you have some kind of abstract piece going on with your vajayjay now…. It's kinda like a picasso pussy, we should take a picture and install it in a gallery somewhere" Arizona smirked pointing towards Callie's red, swollen and puckered pubic bone, biting back her laughter when she saw the pure unrestricted annoyance on the usually well put together brunette.

"You want to talk Arizona, fine let's talk… but you sit in that chair and you don't move an inch" Callie ordered as she pointed to a chair near the door, far away from the wax pot and her 'picasso pussy' and despite herself she had to swallow the smirk, she wasn't amused at all right now, far from it... but she knew, just knew that given a few hours for her annoyance and anger to simmer, she would find the whole situation and 'name' hilarious, but now wasn't that moment, oh no... right now wasn't that moment, now she was mad.

Arizona offered a non committal shrug before making a show about glancing appreciatively at her handy work one more time and nodding proudly with an exaggerated smug smirk before practically skipping towards the chair, unable to hold back her laughter as she felt the narrowed brown eyes following her every move.

Truthfully it didn't look bad at all, her handy work looked rather damn good in fact… wait no! Let's try that again! It didn't look bad at all, not horrible or disfigured... or disgusting… yes that's what she meant the first time… she just wanted to play with Callie a little… god that was a poor choice of wording considering the scenario… she wanted to tease Callie… nope that was definitely just as bad of a choice of words… she wanted to toy with her… oh good lord Jesus that sounded even worse and now she could feel the heat rising to her cheeks!

She just wanted for Callie Torres to feel a little self conscious and embarrassed for a little while... after all her over confidence and ego could do with being lowered a little... well let's be honest, with the size of Callie's ego there was room for it to be lowered a hell of a lot and Callie would still suffer from an enlarged ego, before Callie saw the 'damage' to her landscaping and realized in fact it wasn't that bad and didn't care about it anymore. There that wasn't so hard was it! Why did it feel like it was practically impossible to get that thought clear in her mind. What the hell was going on with her lately?

"Ok… all right... listen here Michelangelo! You have a contract that says you will work for T.I. until Coney Towers is finalized which is contractually defined as all certification being signed off at completion of construction, or I am well within my rights to STOP you from working for any other company, and it's ironclad because YOU drafted it and you're the BEST that there is" Callie winked above her as she glanced at the blonde who was eyeing her in horror.

"Personally I think you wrote it that way on purpose because you knew at some point you would end up backing yourself into a corner and wanting to run away because you are scared BUT here is the twist... you also knew you wouldn't really want to leave me, or T.I. because you knew you would get close and we would become more than just a job and a way to save the community center and so you drafted it in a way that you would have no option but to stay… admit it blondie... It kills you that I know you so well and that I'm a hundred percent right" Callie smirked triumphantly.

"I hate you!" Arizona scoffed as she removed her eyes from the brunettes smug smile and glared at a poster on the wall that she was too angry to read.

"Sure you do Honey… oh and don't think I didn't notice that you were taking more than a quick peek down there Michelangelo... like what you saw, did you?" Callie grinned as she noticed the blonde blush ever so slightly at her insinuation.

"Urgh! Your such a... such a... you're a pig Calliope!" Arizona stood from her chair, marching towards the door just a few feet away with an extra stamp to her foot falls.

"But I'm a pig with a pretty 'picasso pussy' Michelangelo… and you're just mad because you know I'm right... and not just about the pretty picasso part" Callie snorted in amusement as she heard the door slam before hearing Arizona let out a scream of frustrated annoyance on the other side of it, not realizing her frustration could be heard throughout the entire floor and more specifically to the amused brunette.

"Oh she likes me… she just doesn't want to like me or admit that she likes me, she's thinks she wants to hate me" Callie grinned at the waxist who was enjoying all the excitement in her normally mundane job.


	10. Chapter 10

"This contract is excellent work bug, I'm very proud of you, you know… it's exactly the kind of thing your father would write" Barbara smiled lovingly at her daughter, and it was true. She was very proud of her little girl's abilities and even more proud of the way she had turned her life around over the past few months. To say that she was dubious about her only child going to work for what she and her husband referred to as the she devil who ran a soul eating company, she couldn't argue that the move had been a good one for the youngest Robbins.

Gone were the late night calls asking them to come and bail her out on the latest trespassing or other such charges. Gone were the days of worrying that a silent protest would go wrong and they would be receiving a call from the hospital or worse… a visit from the police to inform them of their daughters passing.

They loved their bug very much and were terribly proud of how she had followed in both of their footsteps not just to be an attorney but in their environmental beliefs. Arizona Robbins had certainly adopted her parents principles and beliefs and fought for them with vigor, often putting the many attempts to make a difference that her parents had made combined during their education and then careers to shame.

"Mom this isn't a 'stroke my professional ego' moment… I'm trying to get out this damn thing... help me!" Arizona slapped the document in her mother's clutch with the back of her hand in frustration.

"I don't know why you went to work for that god awful woman in the first place, she has absolutely no morals or standards and you usually know better than that. You have impeccable instincts… I mean look at Joanne, you chose exceptionally well there, not only is she smart and a good person with impeccable standards, morals and beliefs, but she's pretty and caring and a wonderful dedicated environmental warrior… exactly the kind of person we hoped our little bug would end up with and one day marry" Daniel smiled proudly as he thought about his daughters girlfriend off working for Greenpeace, something he had longed to do in his own youth but had instead he had met a girl, fallen in love and never looked back as he battled through the struggles of building a career in a dog eat dog world whilst nurturing a budding relationship and then a marriage before starting on raising a family.

"Yeah… caring" Arizona sighed dejectedly, hoping her father hadn't heard her accidental outburst. Since her last phone call with Jo she just couldn't push aside the feeling that something was off. And not just with Jo, but something had changed within herself and she just couldn't put her finger on what it was, or when it had changed. But things in her own little world certainly seemed a little different to what they normally were.

"Well sweetheart" Barbara interrupted her daughters thoughts. "this contract has no loopholes, it is completely ironclad, even Houdini couldn't escape this if he tried his hardest, it's a wonderful piece of work… quite beautiful infact" Barbara mused, completely missing the pain written on her daughters face.

"You know why I accepted Callie's offer to work at T.I.! Firstly it saved the Community Center, and it also gave me the opportunity to do so much good around the various communities and charities in and around New York. I just didn't expect for Callie being such a demanding and inappropriate person to work for" Arizona sighed as she thought about how she had left things with Callie, she knew that over the past few months she had been privileged to see a side of Callie Torres that nobody got to see, and when she was lucky enough for that side to come out, she really enjoyed talking with the brunette, it was the unrealistic and thoughtless demands and the never ending restraints on her time that she couldn't stand. It was just a shame that Callie would never be able to compromise and stick to behaving more professionally. There was no win-win here, she would either have to suck it up and put up with the demands of the position, or walk away and find something that would provide her with the same opportunities professionally but would allow her with some story of work-life balance, surely that existed, right?

"It was your choice to go and work for that she devil! I warned you that it was a bad idea... I told you that you would regret the decision... You could have done absolutely anything you wanted Arizona, hell you could have worked at the Supreme Court if you had wanted!" Daniel snarked, he didn't mean to be so hard on his little girl, he just wanted the best for her and this was the only way he knew how to do that.

"Daddy you don't understand… Callie isn't a bad person, she has this gentle side to her, one that she doesn't let anyone see but when you gain her trust and get her to open up like that she really is quite sweet and charming and disarming… she just hides it really, really well behind this spoiled brat mask that seems to be incapable of breathing without me holding her hand and coaching her through it. It's frustrating… if she could just be more the person she really is and not this public façade that she hides behind I know that we could achieve amazing things together, really amazing things that could literally change the world" Arizona sighed sadly, something that her mother didn't miss this time.

"I don't know what to tell you Honey" Barbara smiled sympathetically. "short of going in and giving them a reason to fire you…" the older Robbins trailed off when she saw the instant spark in her daughter's eyes. "Oh no... no, no bug... no that isn't what I was suggesting!"

"Mom you are a GENIUS" Arizona grinned for the first time since her 'meeting' with Callie.

"No! No sweetheart it wasn't a suggestion it was just a little fleeting thought… why do I feel like this is going to end up with your father and I bailing you out jail again?" Barbara sighed in defeat as she watched the genius that is Arizona Robbins silently making devious plans inside that beautiful mind completely deaf to her mother's plea's.

-oOo-

"Sup Mr T... Callie" Arizona smiled happily as she entered Carlos' office forty five minutes late, smirking at the annoyed look on Callie's father's face. Truth be told she had arrived fifteen minutes early for this meeting but had spend the past hour pacing around the almost empty floor above Carlos' floor, trying to whittle down the time and forcing herself not to run into the office and beg for forgiveness for her tardiness, anyone who knew Arizona in the slightest KNEW she was never late, NEVER.

"Sorry I'm late" she offered with a disinterested shrug as she relaxed herself in Carlos' desk chair opposite the seating area where the two Torres' were sat waiting impatiently and forced herself to remain cool, calm and collected as she lifted her feet to rest casually against the imposing man's desk whilst trying not give away the fact that she was absolutely shitting herself as she exposed the pair of heels she had purchased yesterday in preparation for today. A pair of shoes that she would not expect anyone that didn't star in porn movies to even look at never mind wear and especially not to a professional environment, a pair of shoes she wouldn't dream of ever finding herself wearing, inappropriate wasn't enough of a word to describe these shoes, but she was committed to getting herself fired and if that meant wearing a tiny skirt and huge heels, she would suffer through.

"It's fine Arizona, we only just arrived ourselves" Callie smirked, instantly clueing in to what Arizona was playing at and finding the entire thing highly amusing, until her eyes caught those heels hanging off her father's expensive antique desk and the way those pale legs seemed to go on forever until they disappeared behind the desk and into a skirt that was far shorter than anything the brunette had ever seen the blonde wear, leaving Callies mind reeling. She literally didn't think she had ever seen such an attractive and desirable thing, right now Arizona was hot... She was Hot, no, the capital H alone didn't cut it, Arizona was HOT... even that didn't cover it... right in this moment Arizona was H.O.T. holy shit was she H.O.T. And with her blouse undone a button lower than normal exposing the creamy curves of her breasts... holy! Shit!

Callie forced her jaw closed, paranoid that it was dragging on the floor comically before attempting to wipe at the corners of her mouth subtly to make sure she wasn't actually drooling over the delicious view the blonde was laying out in front of her teasingly.

"If you can consider forty five minutes as having JUST arrived" Carlos glared at the blonde he had only dealt with a handful of times, a woman who normally seemed so well put together and professional and damn fine at her job that he was continually surprised that Callie had found the woman and actually convinced her to take the job, and had actually managed to get her stick around for so long. And from what he could tell, his daughter actually hadn't slept with this one, which was surprising in it's own rights! However, the way the usually impeccably dressed blonde was... not so impeccably dressed today, he had his suspicions that perhaps the blonde had her own agenda on changing the fact that she had yet to sleep with his daughter.

Arizona fought to ignore Callie's shit eating grin and Carlos' death glare, she was now committed to this plan, she had to go through with it, regardless of how much just the knowledge of Carlos' glare on her made her want to beg for forgiveness and do anything she could to make it up whilst she blubbered like a newborn baby.

"Wow, Carlos' are these your other children? I have never actually met them, you must be very proud to have four stunningly beautiful daughters" Arizona smiled sweetly as she held up a picture frame from the imposing man's desk and swallowed down the fear and nausea she knew she would feel the second her eyes met Carlos' and he begun to defend his two sons against her insult.

"Yes my BROTHERS are blessed with the Torres genes" Callie bit back her laugh at Arizona's attempt. She could tell her father wasn't as amused as she was, but she would explain what all of this was about to him later in private, after all she didn't want the man to think poorly of Arizona just because she herself had backed the blonde into a corner and forced her to roll up her sleeves to play dirty. She was actually impressed to see Arizona playing dirty in this way and sticking to it, the normally A type woman would normally throw up just at the thought of doing any of the things she had done so far... perhaps that explained why the normally pale woman was doing an exceptionally perfect impression of Casper the friendly ghost.

"Oh brothers?... Oh... oh yes so they are boys… easy mistake to make" Arizona shrugged trying desperately to not make eye contact with Callie as she just knew that the brunette would be enjoying her appalling behavior far too much.

"Indeed… it must have been the matching tuxedos that confused you" Callie scoffed slightly, watching as Arizona scanned the photo of her adorable baby brothers again as if noticing their attire for the first time. She really hadn't looked at the photo before and just gave it a very quick glance having not wanted to encroach on Mr. Torres' privacy by studying his personal items, of course she knew he had two sons to his second wife... who in America DIDN'T know that fact about the great Carlos Torres who's private life featured in the gossip rags a quarter of what Callie's did. But now that she took the time to actually look at the photo she could see how handsome the two boys were, they looked to be around three and five, and both as cute as a button in their tiny human tuxedos that were clearly bespoke as they fit perfectly to their little frames.

Both boys had short hair, but the youngest's hair was a little longer, more natural length whereas the eldest had a young man's haircut, clean and tidy. What took Arizona's breath away was how both boys were identical to Callie. Both had been blessed with that gorgeous caramel 'sun-kissed' look only they looked to be ever so slightly paler than Callie, and their hair was the same shade of raven. Their big expressive almond eyes were brown however if she was to admit just how closely she was scrutinizing the photo she could see that their eyes although brown, were several shades lighter than Callie's chocolate orbs and their eyelashes, wow it should be illegal for any male to hold such beautiful long eyelashes. They both had Callies famous billion dollar smile too pulled up in lips that weren't as pronounced as Callies but were the same delicious color, although the smaller of the two didn't have quite as many teeth in his expressive smile as his big brother and sister did, however it was every ounce as magical.

"So I would like to get some publicity drummed up for Coney Towers" Carlos interrupted the silent moment as he watched the blonde staring longingly and adoringly at the photo of his sons before he glanced to his daughter who was watching the blonde with… dare he say it… affection and amusement. Well this was a turn for the books. He hadn't seen his wild daughter look at any woman in that way. Not even Kara, and Callie claimed to have loved that woman, and it wasn't that he didn't believe his daughter or was claiming for her marriage to have been a sham, he just never saw her look at the woman she married in the way she was studying the blonde right now.

This was certainly interesting, neither woman seeming to have heard him he cleared his throat, smiling when neither woman moved for the second time. Perhaps this had something to do with why Miss Robbins was behaving so unprofessionally and out of character, his daughter certainly had the ability to make Mother Teresa act like a crazed lunatic at times.

Oblivious to Callie's constant studying stare and the confusing and intrigued glances from Carlos, Arizona continued to stare at the photo, committing it to her memory subconsciously. The older of the two boys had the slightest traces of a dimple on the left side and a deeper, more prominent dimple on the right side, whereas the smaller boy was dimple free. The only other real difference she could see was the expression in their eyes. It was clear that the older of the two was more sensible, more focussed and was probably the 'good boy' of the two… calm, more calculated, better behaved in a way a child of Carlos was expected and probably low maintenance too, where as the smaller boy… well he held a mischief in his eyes that only compared to the mischief she saw in Callie's eyes regularly, my god she could just tell that the little man was every ounce of the trouble his big sister was and probably kept his parents on their toes.

She couldn't help but muse just how alike the boys were to their big sister, and especially considering the age difference, there would certainly be no doubt that the boys could be mistaken as Callie's sons, and with their slightly lighter complexion and those dimples the eldest was sporting, they actually looked like they could be their sons. Arizona felt herself gasp slightly as that thought entered her mind. Why the hell was she imagining that this is what her sons would look like with that infuriating woman. She placed the picture back down carefully before turning her attention back to the two Torres', she had to get out of this office. She felt herself blush slightly as she realized both of her companions were watching her intently, both with the same inquisitive gaze.

"Coney Towers?" Arizona prompted pompously, snapping the father and daughter our of their own thoughts.

"Indeed... I want to make a start on the publicity" Carlos took the prompt and ran with it, glancing back at Arizona when he heard her rifling through her hand bag and grimacing when he saw her take several sticks of bright pink gum and pop them in her mouth at the same time before beginning to chew them loudly until the were at the right consistency to start blowing and popping bubbles loudly.

Callie watched on with a slight smirk as the blonde shrugged back into her father's antique leather chair and settled into a lounged position with her fingers entwined behind her head, a chair that had once belonged to and had been used by THE Theodore Roosevelt, and here was Arizona Robbins laid back in it seemingly without a care in the world as she spun her golden hair around her left index finger and blew obnoxious pink bubbles before engulfing them in her mouth to pop them with an echo, and as much as the sight amused Callie Torres, it also aroused her because right now Arizona very much looked like 'the man', she owned that three hundred year old desk and she owned that chair that once housed the backside of a president and she very much gave off an air of complete confidence and self assuredness that Callie couldn't help but shuffle slightly in her own seat in an attempt to alleviate the throbbing that was stirring between her thighs.

"I thought that meeting went exceptionally well" Arizona smirked an hour later as she and Callie exited the office together, Arizona having kept up her antics throughout much to Callie's amusement, and although he would never admit to it, also much to Carlos' amusement. The head of Torres Industries was silently impressed as he watched the blonde attorney hand Callie her ass time after time as her antics became more and more outrageous that it actually became a struggle for him to not laugh at her and keep his unimpressed mask on.

"That in there was all kinds of pathetic Arizona" Callie whispered flirtingly into the blondes ear as the two women marched through the corridor.

"I'm sorry Calliope, I'm not exactly sure what your insinuating" Arizona smirked as she opened the door and slipped through it before Callie had the opportunity, she released the door allowing it to slide closed on a shocked brunette who shook her head and scoffed. Arizona could be relied on to act chivalrous, she was always opening doors for people, pulling chairs out, opening car doors, doing all those little things for Callie that made her feel special regardless of if that was Arizona's intent. This was the first time the blonde hadn't done that.

"I know what you're trying to do Arizona and it's not working… although I must say letting one rip on President Roosevelt's chair…. Priceless, I think even my father was impressed until the smell hit us… have you considered a colonic irrigation?" Callie grinned as she saw the horror spread across Arizona's face instantly.

"Your father does not own Teddy Roosevelt's chair!" Arizona gasped as she spun back to inspect Callie's face for any trace of mischief or deception.

"Oh yes Arizona he does… however don't worry it's not the one from the Oval Office, it's the one from his personal study in the residency wing of the White House, the one where he worked on his speeches and sipped his favorite scotch in peace and quiet… I bet he never imagined Arizona Robbins would be so eloquently leaning to the side and releasing a rather impressive fart on it" Callie smirked, raising her eyebrow teasingly at the mortification on the other woman's face.

"Calliope enough! You are actually making me ill Callie... like deteriorated health kind of ill, I mean I have a damn ulcer, in my damn stomach! And I don't sleep, mostly because you keep calling me at the ass crack of dawn and if you're not calling me then I'm dreaming about you calling me! I keep missing meals because I'm falling asleep in my food and dreaming about you calling me! I think about you in the shower..." Arizona raised her hand in annoyance when she saw the playful smirk on Callie's face and just knew that the brunette was about to offer some seedy, flirty comment.

"No don't even raise that stupid eyebrow like that, I am not playing Calliope, this is not me admitting to some kind of dirty secret fantasy where I think about you in the shower and touch myself! That would require energy, which I don't have because you drain every molecule of energy from me... I think about you in the shower in the way that I forget if I have even cleaned myself yet, so I end up washing my hair and my body twice... so now I have a hole in my stomach, I'm quickly becoming an unintended anorexic, my stupid office clothes that I don't even like but had to waste money on too look professional don't fit me anymore and I'm running out of toiletries and look at my hair, it's overwashed and now it's limp and dry and, and I have split ends on top of my split ends! And the worst thing of all of it is that today is the first time in my entire life that I haven't given completely one hundred percent to anything to do with my work, and I hate that feeling Callie I feel like im suffocating knowing that I aren't giving you a hundred percent" Arizona began to hyperventilate.

"Ok... hey! Arizona I need you to calm down and take a couple of deep breaths for me... come on breathe!" Callie soothed. "look I won't call anymore... well not out of hours anyway... between 7am and 7pm Monday to Friday your ass is mine... anything outside of those hours I will leave you in peace" Callie suggested softly.

"Cal, you won't and you know you won't, you will try for a day or two and then you will start calling me at midnight to ask me whether I think wedgies are really worth a seamless ass line on your stupid overpriced and unethically made pencil skirt" Arizona sighed as she wiped the angry tears away from the corners of her eye.

"In my defense... that was a very valid question and your opinions on the topic were inspirational and very helpful... I was nominated for an 'Ass of the Year Award' because of your amazing insight" Callie smiled softly, when Arizona giggled slightly before pulling her face back into line and trying to not to give away that she was anything less than angry at the brunette.

"I just don't think we can see each other professionally anymore Callie, it's not you it's me" Arizona sighed sadly, glancing at Callie when she scoffed. "ok... it's not me it's absolutely you! But that doesn't mean that I hate you, it just means that professionally, we don't work anymore, we've fought hard to make this work but it just isn't meant to be Callie, you would be happier with someone else and so would I" Arizona deflated slightly and Callie couldn't help but watch the blonde for a few moments, she looked tired, not just tired but bone deep tired and the knowledge that she was a major contributing factor to that sent a jolt of pain and guilt directly to her heart.

"All right... you win, I give in... I admit defeat, I surrender... stay until you can find a suitable replacement and give me two weeks for you to train them up properly and handover the department and then you can go and live the dream at Chuck E Cheese" Callie smiled softly as she nudged Arizona playfully with her shoulder.

"You mean it?" A slight smile broke across Arizona's face and hope burst into her eyes.

"Yeah... I mean it guess I kinda owe you... maybe, I mean you have done so many amazing things for me, and you've taught me so much... it's the least I could do to release you from the contract of being at my beck and call" Callie sighed.

"Thank you... Thank you Callie! I promise I will find you the bestest most amazing replacement ever, someone far better than me because I'm not even THAT good!" Arizona shrieked as she jumped into Callie's arms and wrapped her arms around the brunettes firm shoulders as she pulled the taller woman into a hug, ignoring how incredible it felt to have her body pressed against Callie's curves.

"Well if I knew all I had to do was fire you to get this kind of affection from you, I would have kicked your ass to the ground weeks ago" Callie grinned as she wrapped her arms around the blondes waist and savored the moment as she took a deep breath and sighed as she inhaled the blondes scent, something to date that she had only enjoyed from a distance.

"Err... Mr Torres... ummm, Hey" Arizona blushed as she opened her eyes to find Callie's dad stood watching them closely.

"Hi Daddy... come and join us we were just brainstorming the Coney Towers publicity possibilities" Callie tried to act normal despite feeling the blush settle deep into her cheeks as she stepped away from the blonde.

"Is that so, Arizona?" Carlos asked fighting the smirk that was desperate to spread across his face as the blonde fought back her blush and tried to remove the disappointment that was written all over her entire body.

"Yeah, we were... erm... brainstorming the umm, the publicity possibilities for umm... Coney Towers" Arizona offered nervously.

"Yeah... I got that... when Calliope told me.. Just two seconds ago" Carlos scoffed as his eyes darted between the two women. He was actually amazed that his daughter wasn't looking all kinds of smug as she usually would when she had been caught by her father, or anyone else for that matter in this kind of position, instead she looked embarrassed of sorts, and shy... and dejected, almost like she was devastated that their privacy and moment had been interrupted because she was unsure if she would ever be able to get that moment back.

"Oh yeah, of course! Sorry... umm... too much gum, it went to my head! So we were thinking that it would be a good idea to start off with some publicity shots of Cal on the build site..." Arizona trailed off thoughtfully before smirking mischievously. "You know, get her out of these stuffy suits and into something more relatable to the general public... and you know after Callie agreed to actually spend the day on the build site doing some manual labor, with a film crew and photography team on hand to catch every glorious moment of Callie learning how to install dry walls and how to use the sledge hammer... you know, it's gonna help the public see past her billion dollar smile and see the real woman that's the face behind T.I." Arizona glanced at Callie from the side of her eye and tried not to guffaw at the paled expression on the normally tanned face.

"Arizona that's a fabulous idea! I love it and you already got Callie to agree to it, fantastic... set it up!" Carlos beamed at the idea before walking away and leaving the two women alone.

"Oh you are so dead Robbins" Callie whispered close to the blondes ear so that her father wouldn't hear.

"So worth it... you're welcome by the way" Arizona grinned before throwing Callie a playful wink and walking away. Sometimes payback was just sweet.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N - 502... I hear what you are saying... so I thought I would post this chapter just for you, hope it's enough 'romance' for you... we aren't quite there yet my friend, have some patience! I have up to chapter 30 written and the romantic fluff is on the way, I promise!

To everyone else, that you so much for your reviews and your pm's, I'm really enjoying your reactions to my fic, so please keep them up. they make my day! Enjoy the next chapter, things are about to get a little more serious... I did warn you all of the slow burn! :)

AL xxx

Arizona couldn't hide the bubble of laughter that erupted from deep within her as Callie exited Coney Towers in navy blue protective work pants, a long sleeved pink high viz shirt, a pink hard hat and dirty 'white' protective oversized ear muffs. As she removed the oversized safety glasses that were perched on her dusty nose an obvious sheen of dust covered sweat emerged to surround the untouched patch of skin on Calles face, the rest was covered in dust, grime, sweat and dirt... Callie looked a mess... yet somehow still beautiful as she rolled up her sleeves and gave Arizona a wide smile before swiping the back of her hand over her forehead and smudging something dark across her forehead. Arizona adjusted her phone subtly and took a photo of the moment to treasure forever.

"You know... when you suggested this, I really did have my doubts and reservations but this was a good idea Arizona, I actually had a really fun day... and the guys on the worksite.. HILARIOUS... I learnt the important skill of wolf whistling really, REALLY loud... you know so the whistle can be heard off the work site over the sound of the power tools, that's a real life skill I get to use for the rest of my life, oh and big Kev taught me how to project my voice so it can be heard across big distances..." Callie smirked as she grabbed the coffee that Arizona was holding out to her with a wide smile.

"Yeah... I heard you!... I think im mistaken but I could have sworn I heard you yell out that I have a nice rack?" Arizona squinted pointedly as she tried to rein in her amusement and not encourage Callie's flirty antics, regardless of how amusing they were at times.

"Ahhh hah! that was actually Enrique!" Callie smirked proudly at coming up with a viable excuse so quickly.

"Oh really... well ENRIQUE has a very effeminate voice doesn't he Calliope?" Arizona shook her head as Callie guffawed loudly in amusement, the laugh that was her true laugh as Arizona had come to learn, not the honed and reserved laugh she gave everyone else, but the laugh she truly offered when she had all her guards and walls down and was just being Calliope Torres, and it was loud, and attention grabbing, and miraculous in every way.

"He does Arizona! And he is very shy about it" Callie smirked eventually "You should feel honored, he has really good taste" Callie winked teasingly.

"Hmmm I'm sure he does!" Arizona scoffed. "Anyways, I'm just going to head and see my folks over there for a moment, and then we can head off" Arizona pointed towards her parents who were waving at her from the opposite side of the safety fence a few meters away.

"Oh... your parents? I have to meet them" Callie grinned and skipped eagerly towards the elderly couple leaving a shocked blonde in her wake.

"Uh Cal, wait!" Arizona yelled trying her hardest to stop the brunette before she was blindsided by the wrath of her parents, especially her father.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Robbins, it's a pleasure to finally meet you" Callie beamed as she held her hand out between both parents, not wanting to offend either parent by offering the hand to the other first. Frowning when both parents just stared at her, Mrs Robbins with a forced polite smile and Mr Robbins with a literal death glare.

"Hi Mom, Hi Daddy" Arizona smiled sweetly trying to break the overbearing and obvious tension.

"Hi Honey" Barbara smiled as she pulled her daughter into a loving embrace. "You look very pretty today, doesn't she Daniel, doesn't she look pretty?"

"Very dear, those shoes are a little impractical though aren't they?" Daniel eyed his daughters shoes, the same shoes Callie had forced her to wear this morning as a joke because she was being forced to wear steel toe capped boots, the same shoes that she had purchased for operation 'get fired' that belonged only in a porno and not on a work site.

"Well you know Arizona, she loves to parade around worksites in stilettos" Callie grinned until she saw the death glare continuing from Arizona's father and her smile faltered and quickly formed into her trademark Callie Torres smile, the one reserved for the entire world apart from just a handful of people, she was actually surprised herself that she had instinctually offered her real smile to the blondes parents to begin with.

"Daddy... you met Callie didn't you?... Callie Torres, my boss" Arizona glared at her father pointedly for being so rude.

"Pleasure to meet you Ms Torres" Daniel sighed as his eyes gazed at the brunette who was dressed like a tradesman.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you too Mr Robbins... I can see where Arizona gets her... smile from" Callie offered nervously, ignoring Arizona as she cleared her throat to disguise the snort of amusement that escaped her lips.

"And this is my mom, Barbara" Arizona motioned to her mother who smiled a little more warmly after seeing Arizona's pleading look and being completely unable to refuse her daughter.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms Torres, thank you for finally letting Arizona finally resign, it made our week" Barbara smiled sweetly.

"I wish I could say that it was my pleasure Mrs Robbins, she will be irreplaceable to both T.I. and myself and will be very much missed" Callie smiled kindly.

"That's very sweet of you to say Ms Torres" Barbara nodded in return.

"Ok you two, enough chit chat, it's time we got back to the office" Arizona scoffed, her mother could play nice with even her biggest enemy. Something that always amused her, she had a bigger facade than Callie did sometimes.

"Oh nonsense, while you and Ms Torres are here you should come back to the apartment for some tea" Barbara smiled kindly, deliberately ignoring her husbands scoff and incredulous look.

"We can't Mom, we have very important things to get back to" Arizona smiled apologetically hoping that her mother wouldn't detect her lie, unable to ignore her father's death glares and pout.

"None of that, I'm certain that Ms Torres here won't mind coming back for some tea" Barbara glanced hopefully at the brunette.

"Well she shouldn't! after all she IS the reason we haven't seen our daughter for more than five minutes at a time for the last SIX months" Daniel scoffed and ignored the glares being directed at him from both his wife and daughter.

Daddy!" Arizona whined.

"It's fine Arizona, we aren't in any rush to get anywhere, we can take some time out to hang out with your parents, tea sounds lovely Mrs Robbins" Callie smiled softly at the blonde before turning her attention towards the blondes mother who was still smiling her with a sweet, yet completely false smile "We can take the car..."

"Oh nonsense dear, we only live three blocks away... the walk will do us oldies the world of good, we have to watch our health these days" Barbara smiled playfully.

"Wait, you live around here?" Callie asked in shock as she glanced questioningly at Arizona as to why she hadn't told her that her parents lived so close, sure she had said they lived in the area but three blocks is practically next door neighbors to the build site.

"Oh yes! so we will personally be affected by this monstrosity that you're erecting right in our apartments eye line of the shore" Daniel glared furiously as he watched Callie glance at the blonde begging for help.

"Come on... let's get walking then" Arizona sighed in frustration, giving her father a pointed look to behave and be polite. Sometimes she questioned how a man with such a brilliant mind, someone who had achieved as much as he had throughout his life, someone who fought for everyone to have a voice... could act so obnoxious and rude, and disrespectful... and frankly childish.

The first few moments of the walk was in complete silence, and not a comfortable silence either... it was an awkward and tense silence as Callie studied her surroundings, surprised and endeared by the charm of the old styled buildings that were quickly being eradicated and replaced with modern new builds. Barbara and Daniel kept glancing at each other nervously, wondering how to start a conversation with the brunette who went against everything they stood against and Arizona glancing between her parents and boss, two separate and very different parts of her life that she never wanted to find mixing.

"Mr and Mrs Robbins, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support on this project" Callie offered in an attempt to quell the silence.

"Well at least you are keeping the community center, that's something I suppose... unless you think we could convince you to reconsider the entire project and just keep the community center" Daniel smiled tightly, knowing he was pushing his look from the glare his wife and daughter threw at him.

"Sorry Mr Robbins but I doubt very much my father would allow that to happen when we are looking at a projected estimation of slightly over seventy million in profits" Callie offered a sheepish smile when Daniel's head snapped to attention, an equal mixture of horror at the information he had just been provided and shock at the amount of dollars that were involved, far more than he expected.

"Well Ms Torres... I think it's completely immoral for any person to gain so much money from just one transaction, I really don't know how someone like you can sleep at night" Daniel snapped, eyeing his daughter to show his distaste.

"Oh... Well I have a machine that simulates the sounds of the ocean and a false ceiling with backlighting which hosts an exact replica of the northern hemisphere winter night sky, which teamed with the extremely comfortable bed your daughter helped me choose, I really don't struggle too much" Callie offered with a slight smirk before realizing she was not in front of the right crowd for her idiotic and sarcastic jokes, but when Arizona giggled beside her she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the beautiful sound.

-oOo-

"I used to come up here all the time when I was a kid, it was my special place" Arizona smiled softly as she looked out over the view from the rooftop terrace of her parents apartment block.

"I had a one bedder over looking Central Park, myself" Callie grinned, winking at Arizona who was watching the brunette as if trying to work out if she was just teasing again or if she was actually being serious.

"Ok... you got me, I'm lying it was a two bedder! I didn't want you to think I was showing off" Callie scoffed.

"You're an idiot Calliope" Arizona shook her head as she laughed.

"But you're laughing" Callie grinned, content to just be in the moment with the other woman and enjoy the moment while she could.

"Because you're a goof!" Arizona scoffed.

"It really is something else up here" Callie smiled as she returned her attention back to the view.

"Yeah... it's great isn't it! I used to bring a box of donuts up here and the latest 80's mix and just watch the neighborhood, it's amazing the things that you see when you just sit back and watch" Arizona sighed almost dreamily before motioning towards the street and waiting until the brunette was looking towards the street below. "It has always been a little community, every day around four when work was out and people started getting home, they would start congregating alongside the street. The dads would stand on that side and have a beer or two together while they watched the kids play and despite disagreeing and acting like they didn't want to play with the kids, a street game would always erupt, usually soccer" Arizona smiled as she watched the kids starting to beg their fathers to play.

"And the mothers, they would start off by discussing what they were going to make for dinner... each trying to out do the other by professing to be cooking some over elaborate dish that they wouldn't have a clue how to even start cooking. And then when the games would start their attention would turn to cheering on their husbands and kids, arguing amongst themselves over which side would win" Arizona grinned as she heard an Italian woman begin to yell at her husband for going too slow as one of the older kids tackled the football from him and sped off in the opposite direction to the cheers of his teammates.

"Then when it get's too dark to see properly, the mother's would call their children in, yelling at them to get their asses inside and do their homework and get cleaned up and like that the game's over with no winners. Once the kids have disappeared, the women would then stand around gossiping about the women in the other buildings who weren't a part of their group before bidding each other goodnight and heading inside. The fathers would hang out for another half an hour or so, sculling down one last beer for the road before their wives would start hanging out their apartment windows and yelling to them that dinner was ready. And then like that, the street would go silent and the cheering and catcalling stops, and then the apartment lights flicker on and the sounds are transformed into this beautiful cacophony from the families going about and doing their family things. Sometimes TV shows... but mostly the sound of people yelling out the answers to a quiz show or yelling at a character on the TV who was about to kiss someone they shouldn't or some other such drama. Then you would hear the sounds of the kids who did music lessons practicing their instruments and even though they were all playing and singing different songs and different instruments at different times, the sounds was just so beautiful... and then the sounds would start to quieten down as the kids went to bed, then the parents went to bed, and the lights would start flickering out and this peacefulness would descend... this beautiful quiet that held promises that even though the day was over... tomorrow would bring a fresh start, a new day, and come four tomorrow, the families would all meet on the street again and it would start all over again"

Callie stared intently at the blonde who was watching the fun down in the street below longingly, a delicate combination of contentedness and sadness etched all over her face and she couldn't help but feel her heart start beating that little bit harder and faster as she studied her. The soft colorful glow of the slowly descending sun highlighting her features and exposing just how beautiful she really was. Callie cringed as the thought flitted through her mind before pulling her attention back to the scene on the street and away from the woman beside her.

"And then there is you... up here on your own?" Callie stated, hoping for a further insight into her companions childhood but Arizona just sighed and offered a dejected 'yeah'.

"Why weren't you on the street playing with all the other kids Arizona?" Callie asked eventually, the curiosity getting too much for her.

"I used to... before..." Arizona trailed off and Callie glanced out the corner of her eye to see the blonde watching the kids cheering as they scored a goal, a pensive look on her face and moisture tugging at her beautiful expressive cerulean eyes. The blonde glanced at the warm caramel hand resting on her alabaster forearm that broke her from her internal trip down memory lane by rubbing her forearm gently before squeezing it in a silent token of support. She glanced up to Callies expressive chocolate eyes and sighing before turning away sadly and back to the street view.

"I used to play on the streets with my big brother... Tim... we were the only two kids down there without our parents... they were always too busy working, not that I begrudge them for that, but it's a fact. When Timmy got ill we stopped playing out and instead would sit in his room and watch the other kids... laughing at when they messed up and making fun of them... it was mean and the few times our parents caught us doing it we received hell for it, but it made Timmy laugh and that made him feel better about not being allowed to go out to play and be a normal kid, and about how I was sat inside keeping him company instead of being out there having fun with all the other kids... and then he got sicker and couldn't even make it to the window... I set up all these mirrors that were aligned just right so that he could lay in bed and still see out the window, but then he got worse and didn't even have the strength to keep his eyes open and watch so I would sit beside him and describe what was happening like I was reading him a story, and I would make up silly conversations that could have been happening to make him laugh and smile and take his mind off his pain and his endless thoughts about what was coming... he was terrified that he would end up in hell because of all the pranks we used to play on people" Arizona wiped at the tears now streaking down her face numbly.

"He was fourteen when the cancer finally took him... he lasted twenty one months after the initial diagnosis... it was in his blood and he showed no symptoms so by the time we saw the signs and got him some medical help, it had already spread to his bones and his lungs. It was too late save him, so all we could do was keep him comfortable and make his days as worthwhile and comfortable as we could" Arizona couldn't face Callie, she didn't want to see the pity flooding in those brown eyes. Her body tensed when she felt the brunettes arms wrap around her waist from behind and pull her back against her body before she relaxed slightly and felt the flood gates break apart and she began to sob uncontrollably.

Callie just held her, she knew there was nothing she could say or do that would lessen the pain the blonde was feeling right now, so instead of offering meaningless words she just held her tightly, trying to absorb all of her pain and instead inject some of her own strength into the usually stoic woman. She nuzzled her face into the side of blondes hair, accidentally inhaling a deep breath of the other woman's scent and feeling her own muscles relax slightly at the feeling of home which spread throughout her.

"Come on sweetie, take some deep breaths for me and let it all go, I've got you... I've got you so just let it all out" Callie whispered in a low soothing breath against the shell of the blondes ear in an act that was completely innocent and provided Arizona with more comfort than she thought she had ever felt before. The two women stood there for what felt like an eternity but in all reality was around half an hour, Arizona safely wrapped in Callie's strong arms as she sobbed and hiccupped through the pain and loss of her brother, her best friend and her partner in crime.

"I'm sorry... I'm so embarrassed" Arizona scoffed as she lowered her face and nestled back into Callies embrace, not quite ready to break away from it yet and lose the sense of safety that her boss was providing her. "Thank you Calliope" Arizona whispered as she began to pull away from the embrace only to have Callie tug her back into an even tighter one that the blonde couldn't help but melt into.

"You're welcome Arizona... thank you for trusting me enough to share the memory of your brother with me, it really means a lot to me" Callie smiled sadly before placing a single innocent and calming kiss on Arizona's cloth covered shoulder.

"I want you to know that whenever you need to just get away from it all... or to just let go, or even to talk about it... I'm here for you Arizona, you can trust me. I know we come from two very different worlds and I know I do nothing but give you shit and drive you insane, but I care about you Arizona, we're friends... I have trusted you with things I would never share with anyone and you have been nothing but respectful and valiant in protecting that trust, and you have trusted me and shared with me tonight... I just... it's important to me that you know that I'm here for you and not just because I'm your boss but because I'm your friend... I'm here whenever you need me, all you need to do is '911 SOS'… even if it's six years down the track and you work for a normal boss who treats you in the way you deserve... just always remember that ok? Promise me you won't forget that" Callie whispered softly, for the first time in her life she had a woman in her arms, she was holding her close and whispering into her ear as she nuzzled against her face and it had nothing to do with sexual attraction.

Well, of course there was a sexual attraction, she was only human and not a blind one... of course she found Arizona attractive, the woman was gorgeous in a completely understated way... in a way that the blonde didn't even seem to realize how stunningly beautiful she was... and it wasn't just in a physical way, Arizona was smart and funny... and principled... and when she wasn't being such a stick in the mud and allowed herself to relax a little, she was really good company, but even when she was being a stick in the mud Callie seemed to take so much pleasure in teasing her and getting a reaction from her, and when Arizona played back... hell the woman was a spitfire... small, sweet and innocent until vexed, and then she didn't pull her punches for anyone or anything. But the thing Callie liked most about the blonde... she didn't take Callie's shit like everyone else did, even her father took more shit than Arizona would and her father was notorious for being a killjoy to Callie's antics, Arizona just had this way of handling her and dealing with her, of letting Callie feel like she had won a discussion or gotten away with something when she infact hadnt, and Callie knew that was the case! She KNEW Arizona was just 'letting' her feel that way so that she didn't feel smothered and controlled, and the thing that really shocked her... was that despite knowing this, despite being fully aware that Arizona was handling her, she didn't really care, she actually enjoyed it... she enjoyed the feeling of Arizona letting her get away with her mischief and sharing that connection and bond with her, enjoying the verbal sparring with her and despite not being able to put her finger on what it all meant, she had embraced it fully without any intention, she didn't feel the need to fight it, or try to break free from it, instead she wanted more of it, she craved it, she longed for it.

"I like you when you aren't being a complete pig" Arizona giggled, pulling Callie from her thoughts.

"Admit it... you like me anyways, even when I am being a pig" Callie smirked as she pulled away from the embrace respectfully, not wanting the blonde to mistake her comment as an attempt to make a move on her, but the absence of the petite frame in her arms left her feeling... feeling what exactly? She didn't even know what this feeling was because she had never experienced it before, and that fact alone scared the shit out of her. She was thankful for Arizona beginning to speak and ending her thought train.

"So... after Timmy... passed away... I didn't ever feel like playing without him, it just didn't feel right, so I would come up here to just watch... sometimes I would talk to him... just imagine that he was laid behind me in the bed still and I would describe what was happening and close my eyes and just... for a moment just pretend that he was still here and my whole world hadn't completely imploded the second his heart stopped beating as he was laid in my arms" Arizona sighed sadly but jumped when she felt Callie take her hand in her own, the warmth of the long caramel fingers soothing the pain in her soul slightly.

"What are you up to now Calliope?" Arizona smirked teasingly, laughing when Callie rolled her eyes playfully.

"Just shut up and go with it will you!" Callie scoffed. "Close your eyes..." Callie ordered softly as she closed her own eyes and waited, knowing despite not being able to see the blonde that she was watching her instead of doing as she was told.

"Arizona, please! for me... just close them" Callie begged, she felt Arizona move slightly but suspected her eyes were still open, she couldn't explain how she knew it but she just felt like Arizona's blue eyes were trained on her, she tugged at her hand playfully and raised her eyebrows, all the while keeping her own eyes shut.

"How did you know?" Arizona laughed softly.

"I could feel you undressing me with your eyes again... it's very distracting so stop it" Callie smirked, laughing when she felt the blonde nudge her playfully.

"Ok they are closed" Arizona confessed.

"Now I want you to imagine that Tim is stood right here, he isn't in that bed sick, he isn't fading away and you don't need to be the strong little sister and keep his spirits up. Just imagine that he is stood beside us... strong and healthy and all grown up... and he's enjoying the view and smiling and laughing, and he is telling you how much he loves this time with you, how happy he is to have you as his baby sister, and how proud he is of you, of all the things you have achieved. How proud he is of the person you have become and of how strong you are to have overcome everything and carried on fighting... he would probably be saying something like... Oh I dunno... 'I'm proud of you bug and no matter how hard things feel at times, your super and awesome so don't forget it!' And then he would probably give you a wet willie or a Chinese burn or perhaps even a wedgie" Callie smirked when she felt Arizona giggle before resting the side of her head against the taller woman's shoulder.

"You really can be something else sometimes you know... this whole... no heart, no prisoners, no emotions, no feelings, nothing but humor... persona that you have going on, as amusing and charming as it is..." Arizona rolled her eyes sarcastically and giggled when Callie nudged her and pouted dramatically "I much prefer this side of you, It's far more charming and much more attractive... although I will confess, it's not as amusing"

"Yeah well... This me is a side I don't let many people see so feel honored... and if you tell anyone about this I will not hesitate to call the Torres family hitman" Callie nudged the blonde playfully.

"Hah... you wouldn't do that... you couldn't live in a world without me, you would probably accidentally kill yourself within the first five minutes" Arizona scoffed.

"You know... I really don't know how exactly I am going to function without you... I feel sorry for the person who replaces you" Callie admitted shyly.

"Me too... although not sorry enough to pre-warn them about what they are letting themselves in for" Arizona teased as she turned her head, still resting on Callie's shoulder, so that the brunette could see that she wasn't serious... well wasn't totally serious, as their eyes met Arizona suddenly realized just how close their faces were, all it would take is for her to lean in just a few centimeters and those plump, deep red lips would be pressed against hers. She wondered briefly how those lips would taste, how soft they would be, how warm Callie's tongue would feel as it tangled and danced with her own, and a light shudder ran through her body and she swore she felt Callie gasp slightly, she tore her eyes away from the brunettes lips to meet her eyes and gasped herself when she saw just how dark those usually chocolate eyes had grown.

"We should probably head back in before it gets any darker and your father murders me for having you outside too late" Callie smiled softly before pulling away from the blonde, not trusting herself to continue being so close and not taking those pale lips against her own.

"Oh come on Calliope! he is harmless" Arizona scoffed.

"harmless? He is terrifying Arizona! I wasn't sure if he was going to kill me and feed me to the poor or bury me on the build site in a pit of concrete to stop the build from carrying on" Callie winked as she held the metal door open and motioned for the blonde to go ahead of her.

"Oh Callie! do not let him here that suggestion, he may actually take you up on it... he can be a bit terrifying sometimes... but you know, no matter what... he has always been the voice in my head pushing me to do better, work harder, run faster, think smarter... always telling me to fight for my beliefs and not compromise myself... never settle for a B instead of an A on a test..."

"Wait, are you telling me that you actually got a B once?" Callie interrupted in shock.

"Of course not! I was being hypothetical Calliope" Arizona raised an eyebrow teasingly and laughed. "Surely you know me well enough by now to know that even IF I had gotten a 'B' I would have argued my point until the idiot who gave it to me saw the error of their judgment and it was upgraded" Callie couldn't help but shake her head as she guffawed in amusement as Arizona winked mischievously.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N - Ok, I'm not 100% sure what happened, but SOMEHOW what I originally posted as chapter 6 was INFACT chapter 11.. dont ask me how that happened, i'm as confused as you. So I have now fixed the problem. I have replaced chapter 6 so it is now actually chapter 6 so you may want to just head back and and reread that... sorry about that guys, I honestly have no idea how that actually happened!

But here is Chapter 12 as compensation for my mess up!

ALx

-oOo-

"So blondie finally decided she couldn't hack the pace?" Mark smirked as he settled back into Callies plush leather couch and took another pull at his beer as he swiped the control from the coffee table and changed the ginormous TV onto a basketball game.

"It's not like that Mark... if anything it's actually my fault, I pushed her too much and went too far. I've been a real jerk to her, I'm surprised she even put up with me for this long, if anything the woman is a saint" Callie shrugged as she dropped herself down next to her best friend, pulling a cushion into her lap with one hand to hug it whilst the other hand cradled her corona and lime.

"Really... it's your fault? Ok who are you and what did you do with the real Callie Torres... since when do you own up and take responsibility for your mistakes?" Mark scoffed as he studied the brunette.

"I dunno, I know... I know it's not like me... it's just... she's done so much for me and I have really come to rely her, I trust her and I respect her and... I'm just really going to miss her... I mean miss working with her, and I'm kicking myself for pushing her so hard that she felt she had no option but to leave" Callie frowned as she took a deep swig at her beer, lost in her thoughts.

"What's she like in bed?" Mark asked with a lecherous knowing grin.

"What?! I haven't... we haven't... it's not like that! we have a professional relationship, I haven't slept with her I swear!" Callie spluttered in shock, almost choking on her beer in horror as she stared wide eyed at Mark.

"Wait... so let me get this right... Arizona Robbins... blonde hair, blue eyes, dimples to die for... nice rack... comes to work for YOU?" Mark asked, his face serious as he watched Callie nod and not even attempt to disagree or argue with any of his points.

"You spend all of your time with her... when you're at work you're joined at the hip... when you need anything the first person you call is her... in fact I'm willing to bet that as part of your morning routine now, you call her... while you're drinking your first cup of coffee before you have even put any clothes on or even brushed your teeth" Mark watched the embarrassment cross his friends face and knew he had hit the nail on the head. "Tell me when I'm getting close Cal" he mocked with an affectionate knowing grin.

"I call her to go over my daily agenda!" Callie offered feebly knowing it was a weak excuse but offered it anyway.

"You like her!" Mark shrieked femininely.

"I do not!" Callie shrieked in return as her cheeks began to redden.

"You. Like. Her!" Mark reiterated with a shit eating grin.

"I do not! Shut up jack ass!" Callie glared at her best friend as she tried to hide the horror, embarrassment and shame in her eyes.

"Oh Callie... I may be a jack ass but I'm also right... admit it... you have the hots for Robbins!" Mark giggled almost childishly as he grabbed a cushion and hugged it to his waist excitedly, all interest in the basketball game gone.

"I do not... I don't have the hots for her Mark!" Callie's eyes gave away that she was lying and she knew it.

"Cal, you can't bull shit a bullshitter!" Mark laughed as he fist pumped the air triumphantly before taking a smug sip of his beer.

"Shut up dip shit, you don't have the faintest idea what your even talking about!" Callie defended nervously.

"Admit it Torres" Mark grinned smugly.

"No because I don't have the hots for her! I think she's great but she's not the kind of woman that would even consider dating me, even if she was slightly drunk and lonely and feeling emotional... anyway she also has a girlfriend... and she is way too good for me, I couldn't even compete with the type of women that she would go for... and... and..."

"and the fact that you have considered these things just confirms that... You. Like. Her!" Mark scoffed.

"Stop saying that... I. Do. Not. Like. Her" Callie spelled out, hoping that her idiot of a friend would just drop the subject.

"Ok... let's play the yes/no game... I'm going to ask you a series of questions that you have to answer but can only answer…."

"Yes or no… I grew up privileged not in isolation Mark, I know how the yes/no game works" Callie practically sneered in annoyance as Mark raised his hands in mock surrender, the smug smile still painted on his face.

"Easy tiger!" Mark smirked. "right first question… do you think blondie is hot"

"Quit calling her blondie she has a name you jack ass, show some respect and use it…. What?" Callie asked when Mark looked at her pointedly and expectantly before giving up on waiting for the brunette to realize what she had said and what it meant coming from a self proclaimed womanizer like herself.

"Do you think ARIZONA is hot?" Mark laughed as Callie threw her cushion at him in annoyance at the way he teasingly said the woman in questions name as if they were in the middle of a school playgroun gossipping about girls they liked, a position they had been in many times over the course of their long friendship.

"Yes" Callie huffed.

"Good… that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Mark laughed softly at the sheer irritation on his friends face.

"Do you enjoy spending time with ARIZONA?" Mark asked, easing into his questioning hoping that his plan to expose Callies true feelings to herself worked. He was her best friend, he had known her practically all of his life, minus the six years before they had met and become firm friends the second they met, when Callie had taken pity on the new boy who obviously hadn't come from the same wealth and lifestyle as everyone else in their class and had sat with him at lunch. He knew her better than herself most days and he knew she liked Arizona and he knew she would need a gentle shove in the right direction to realize it.

"Yes... This is stupid Mark!" Callie threw her hands up in frustration before rolling her eyes when they met Marks 'quit being a spoilt brat' look, a look she had been on the receiving end of many, many times over the years.

"Do you think you will be able to replace her around the office?" "No"

"Do you think she has a pretty smile?" "Seriously have you seen those dimples? Yes"

"Do you ever think about her in sexy lingerie?" Mark asked innocently after sensing Callie had relaxed a bit.

"What?! I'm not answering that! Move it along Sloan you pervert!" Callie demanded, the red hue to her cheeks and up her neck giving the answer away.

"Are you really THAT embarrassed to answer that last question?" Mark smirked teasingly.

"Shut it and move it along jack ass or I'm not playing your stupid juvenile game anymore" Callie glared at Mark before rising from her seat to go and fetch two fresh beers.

"Ok fine… but that was your one and only 'get out of jail free card' Mrs Monopoly... plus your pretty pink cheeks totally gave it away…but you have to answer all future questions… let's see… do you enjoy spending time with her outside of a working environment?"

"Yes" Callie threw over her shoulder as she grabbed the beers and shut the fridge door.

"If she was any other woman and not your employee, would you try and pick her up?"

"Yes" this time her answer was given a little shyly and Mark picked up on it like the scent of blood in a shark infested pool.

"Have you ever imagined what it would be like to kiss her?" Mark watched on as Callie nodded slowly as she hid behind taking a sip of beer.

"Have you ever wanted to kiss her?" again Callie nodded, Mark could see that his plan was working and the cogs inside Callie's head were beginning to turn, now all he had to do was nudge her in the right direction and sit back and watch as his best friend admitted she was falling for a woman who was actually worth her time unlike her bitch of an ex.

"Are you scared to admit that you're falling for her because you are petrified that Arizona is going to end up being another Kara and you are scared of getting your heart broken again? Because you remember how much it hurt last time and you don't want to risk going through that pain ever again? Are you really that much of a chickenshit Cal?" Mark asked in an innocent voice before taking a swig at his beer while his ice blue eyes stayed challengingly on Callie's brown orbs.

Callie stared at her best friend incredulously, genuinely shocked at his heart felt outburst but his face only registered one thing… patience. He would sit there as long as it took and wait for Callie to give him an answer. She glanced away, the weight of his gaze too heavy to bare. True to his expression, Mark sat silently waiting as his friends face changed subconsciously as her thoughts played out in that underutilized brain of hers.

"Yes" Callie whispered eventually, shocking Mark that he had actually received an honest answer from his friend.

"Yes?" Mark asked, hoping for some elaboration as he tucked his leg under his body and spun to face the brunette, his face free of any amusement of playfulness. He was done playing around, now he needed to show her that he could be relied on to sit and listen and offer her mature and sane advise, something most of the world thought he was incapable of. Yes, the Torres and Sloan team were a misunderstood breed to everyone outside of their inner circle.

"Yes ok Mark… all of the above yes… but it's not JUST Arizona… I'm scared to let anyone get close again, you have known me since pre-school when your Dad did the only decent thing he ever did by you and put you in a good education before disappearing on you. You know me better than almost anyone… I don't do feelings and I don't do commitment, it's not something that has ever interested me… until Kara, and as scared as I was to open myself up to what I was feeling for her, I jumped in anyway… I took a chance… I gave it a go… and look what I got for it! I don't care about the divorcee status, the rumors in the latest rags or even the financial loss… hell I don't even care about the embarrassment of it all… but do you know what does get to me?" Callie smiled sadly at Mark when he shook his head in the negative and reached for her empty hand with his and held it supportively.

"The thing that gets me the most is how much she broke my heart Mark… she broke my fucking heart and I never even knew pain like that existed… I was scared but I tried to be brave and allow myself to love her and she ripped my fucking heart out of my chest and fucked anyone she could right on top of it…" Callie angrily wiped at the tears now falling freely down her cheeks.

"Callie listen carefully to me here...Arizona is NOT Kara, even you can see that those two women are worlds apart" Mark soothed tenderly, his thumb gently brushing against Callie's hand as his eyes pleaded for her to listen and absorb what he was telling her.

"Yeah… well… what if I told you that the things I'm starting to feel for Arizona far exceed anything I ever felt for Kara… what if I told you that the things I felt for Kara seem like a childish playground crush compared to what I already feel for Arizona… what if I told you that last night for the first time in my life I imagined doing the whole marriage and kid thing and instead of being horrified and disgusted at the idea… I actually longed for it… actually wanted it with her, Mark" Callie cried out in horror as she jumped from the couch and began pacing and muttering various things in Spanish, some which Mark understood from the twenty odd years of being exposed to the Torres' and most of the words going over his head, especially the words which weren't swear words, or words which could be used as an insult, or in a pick up line, or a selection of dirty words he had forced Callie to teach him when they were teens.

"Then why are you pushing so hard against this Cal, you are allowed love you know… you are allowed to be happy, you don't need to force yourself into a lonely life revolving around T.I. you know, you can have it all Cal, T.I. the blonde haired blue eyed wife... the incredibly good looking kids you two would definitely produce... all of it, you just have to allow yourself to take a risk and try it with her" Mark offered, jumping across the couch and engulfing the brunette in his protective brotherly arms.

"I can't Mark, I just can't... I mean look how much Kara hurt me and she didn't have half the hold that Arizona already does over me, she has the power to crush me completely and I know me… eventually I will do something to fuck it all up and push her away like I did with Kara and then she is going to destroy me to a point that I won't even be able to breathe anymore" Callie sobbed.

"Callie… Arizona. Is. Not. Kara. She isn't a gold digger. She isn't self centered. She isn't materialistic. She isn't vindictive. She isn't a cheater or a whore. Arizona would never enter into a relationship with you for anything other than because she had genuine feelings for you. I don't know her all that much, but I do know that she is loyal to you to a fault… and from what I have seen and from what you said about the divorce, she is fiercely protective of you. And she already knows all of your flaws and is still here, that's gotta count for ALOT" Mark pulled bag from the embrace as smiled at the woman he loved as a sister.

"Only because I black listed her so that no company would employ her… and she is still leaving remember… I had to let her go, she is still leaving me" Callie sighed dejectedly.

"Yeah well as amusing as that was at the time… you've gotta admit that it was a little mean Cal" Mark scoffed. "but she isn't leaving you… she's leaving T.I. what was it she said about breaking up with you professionally?" Mark asked as he forced Callie's deep expressive eyes to hold his gaze.

"That we couldn't see each other professionally anymore" Callie offered up sadly.

"Exactly… she isn't leaving you, she is leaving the job. She didn't say that she wanted nothing to do with you, or that she couldn't stand to see your annoying face anymore or to be around you… she said she couldn't see you professionally anymore, which leaves a wide open gap for seeing her privately" Mark tried to soothe the distraught brunette.

"you don't get it Mark… she already has a girlfriend!" Callie whined.

"Then play the long game, wait until they break up… which they will eventually… her girlfriend Joanne Keizler who works for Greenpeace? Let's just say I know some people who know some people who know of her and she hasn't been hiding her fling with the crew's captain very well... or his wife" Mark sighed as he saw the pain in his friends eyes at that news.

"Cal you don't tell her that… you don't want to be the messenger, it's not your place to tell her that her girlfriend is a lying, cheating scumbag" Mark warned protectively.

"Are you serious! She's my friend Mark, I can't sit on this… are you certain about it, are you sure?" Callie spat angrily, her eyes a mixture of devastation and fire, and if Mark hadn't been so sure of the brunettes feelings before, her reaction to this news proved beyond any doubt.

"Oh I'm certain… but… Cal, you've heard the expression 'shooting the messenger' right? If you are the one to break it to her that her girlfriend has been extending her tours to carry on screwing the captain… and his wife… sometimes at the same time I'm told… she will hate you... you, not Joanne, you... you will always be the one who gave her the news that broke her heart… don't do that to yourself, or to her... it's Joanne's guilty weight to bare, not your's" Mark pleaded.

"I have to Mark… I can't just sit on it, I would hate her if I found out she knew about Kara cheating on me and didn't tell me… didn't warn me… loving someone isn't about only doing what makes them smile, sometimes you've gotta be the one that hurts them if it's for the right reason, if it's to protect them... even if it means she will hate me, I can't just stand back and continue to let her be treated that way" Callie whined emploringly, frowning when Mark stood silently watching her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just going to stand here and wait for the penny to drop and for you to realize what you just admitted…" Mark scoffed as he watched the brunette look at him in confusion before biting her lip as she thought hard as she tried to work out what Mark was talking about.

Several breaths later the color drained from her tanned face, her jaw dropped slightly, her eyes widened a few millimeters and her breathing became shallow and he knew the penny had finally dropped. He knew she had realized she used the word love in the middle of her rant.

"And there it is… congrats Cal, you just realized your in love with blondie!" Mark laughed loudly.

"How the hell did this happen? Oh shit! I like Arizona... like, I LIKE Arizona... oh god I love her... fuck!" Callie flopped back onto the couch with wide eyes.


	13. Chaptee 13

"Ms Bailey" Arizona smiled politely from the chair behind her desk before lowering her gaze from the short and serious looking woman, to browse over the notes she had made on the woman's resume.

"Please, call me Miranda. It's a pleasure meeting you Ms Robbins, I have followed your work for a long time, I was surprised to hear that you had begun working at a big corporation like Torres Industries but followed you regardless and the changes you have made to local charities that impact a lot of people in and around New York are nothing short of remarkable" Arizona couldn't help but blush at the other woman's words.

"Well I have to admit Miranda, Arizona has taught us a lot about which charities are the best to donate to and work with in order to benefit the most people and the worthy people. We used to put charity names on the dart board and whichever the dart landed on got the cheque… but Arizona has taught us all about how the charities actually work and which charities interlink together. We have gone from random handouts to contributing money to the right people in order to make the best impact for the most people and for the people who need it and will receive the benefits from the donations as opposed to the money going into the pockets of the staff. We hope that her replacement will take the charity aspect just as seriously as Arizona has" Callie smiled softly at Miranda as she noticed Arizona glancing at her with her mouth open in shock from the corner of her eye, but she didn't dare look at her, knowing if she did she would likely blush.

"Well Ms Torres, I can assure you that if I was offered the position I would take the charity aspect very seriously. Like Arizona, I have a soft spot for the homeless and children myself. In fact I found your speech at the Medical Person of the Year Award press release very interesting… even though you quoted Whitney Houston" Bailey smirked in a way that made Callie feel like she was not only being praised but reprimanded at the same time.

The interview went on and to Arizona's surprise over ran by about half an hour. Callie really seemed to gel with the woman despite her abrupt nature and her not being the type of woman that Callie would be trying to jump into bed with. The blonde couldn't help but feel a surge of giddiness as she realized she had finally found her replacement, finally after over thirty interviews, over a two and a half week period… they had found the one and she came in the shape of Miranda Bailey. She was well educated and had passed with honors from Yale Law school. She had various roles at different law firms in different sectors before settling several years ago working for the residential and business building sector as well as volunteering every other weekend for a homeless charity, helping the charities stay afloat legally and working more hands on to get people off the streets and back on their feet. And the best thing… she didn't take shit from Callie, and instead of fighting it… Callie seemed to respect the woman. In fact when Callie had given the African American woman a test on asking her which personal stationery she preferred, the same test she gave all her interviewees since Arizona's brainwave answer, Bailey had responded with "do I look like I'm employed at Officeworks?" an answer which caused Callie to grin widely.

"Well Miranda, it was lovely meeting you, we expect to be making a decision soon and will let you know either way whether you are successful, but I am very impressed by your resume and by your interview" Arizona smiled kindly as she held her hand out and shook the shorter woman's hand.

"We will definitely be in touch soon" Callie smiled warmly, this was definitely the one and she was desperate to make a good impression so when she convinced Arizona to extend an offer of employment, it would be accepted. "and congratulations on the baby"

"What baby?" Miranda's head shot to glare at Callie in horror and disgust, appalled by the insult.

Callie turned to Arizona who had an expression of anger with a raised eyebrow that clearly read 'really you fucking idiot? did you actually just say that?' but all the brunette could do was mouth 'help'

"What baby?" Miranda asked again, the dumbfounded panic on the brunettes face not soothing her at all.

"I'm sorry… I thought I read in your cover note that you would need maternity leave in approximately eight months" Arizona offered, making a show of picking up the woman's cover note and scanning it, hoping that her little act was believable. "oh im sorry Callie my mistake, it must be the next interviewee that asked for mat leave, my mistake" Arizona glared at Callie who was looking extremely contrite.

"Hmmm… damn fools think I'm stupid enough to fall for an act like that? Good day to you both!" and with that Arizona's perfect replacement was replaced by the slamming of her office door.

"Really Calliope? And you call yourself a lesbian… do you know nothing about women? Unless a woman expressly informs you that she is pregnant you NEVER assume! And for god's sake you never congratulate a woman on being pregnant unless you are absolutely completely undeniably certain, what the hell is wrong with you" Arizona snapped at the brunette as her arms were thrown into the air in frustration.

"I know... of course I know that… I was just trying to be nice and impress her!" Callie sighed as she dropped back into her chair and covered her face with her hands to hide her embarrassment and disappointment in herself.

"What by insulting her weight? Is that a habit when your trying to impress a woman, do you pull her pigtails whilst running around the playground giggling too?" Arizona scoffed, she could tell that Callie genuinely felt bad and she knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't insult someone about their weight intentionally, the latina had confessed to her weeks ago after Arizona making a comment about Callie's ego being so big she could conduct her meetings stark naked apart from KISS makeup and still not lose any confidence, Callie had rebuttled that her body image had actually always been a sensitive topic for her since childhood and she worked incredibly hard and ate extremely carefully to ensure she kept in shape, so she knew the brunette wouldn't be insensitive to another's body image deliberately.

It was simply a case of Callie putting her foot firmly in her mouth at the worst possible time.

"Oh funny I see what you did there… because I act like a child so I must flirt like a child too… good one" Callie scoffed from her hiding place beneath her arms.

"Hey… it happens to the best of us, I once put a cash donation in a homeless man's begging cup… only to discover the begging cup was in fact a fresh cup of coffee and the homeless man was apparently a construction worker that didn't take too much pride in his appearance" Arizona smirked when Callie giggled at the mental image and turned her head to peek out the side of her arms.

"He was not happy that I ruined his coffee… I learnt some very colorful language that day" Arizona winked playfully.

"Arizona… we're friends right?" Callie asked as their laughter died down, her stomach in her mouth as she lined herself up to be the messenger, unable to take looking into those beautiful blue eyes and feeling like she was deceiving her friend, the woman that she only just realized that all these overbearing feelings she was having were the symptoms of her falling in love with her, but regardless of that, the blonde was first and foremost her friend. She sat up straight in the chair and eyed the blonde warily.

"Hmmm… that depends on if your going to ask me about my sleepwear again" Arizona smirked at their private joke but her smile faded when she saw the pain etched on Callie's face.

"Hey what is it Cal… what's going on?" the blonde asked worriedly, taking Callie's hand and applying a supportive pressure to it.

"I found something out… and it wasn't because I was fishing for the information, it was just handed to me in the middle of a conversation and now I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place because the thing that I found out… although I can't prove it... it has the potential to really hurt someone that I really care about… and I don't know what to do… a part of me wants to tell them because they are my friend and I care about them and I don't want them to be made a fool of or taken advantage of but I also don't want them to hurt even though I know telling them what I know will definitely hurt them… it feels like the right thing to do, is to tell them but I'm scared that they will take their anger and hurt out on me for being the messenger… I don't want it to affect our friendship and I know it's selfish but there's this voice in the back of my head telling me that it's not my place to say anything and that I should just mind my own business and I just… GOD, I don't know what to do Arizona and it's tearing me up inside sitting on this stupid secret because now that I know this thing, I feel like im the one deceiving this person that I care about and I don't want to do that, not just because I care about this person but because they have done nothing but support me and be kind to me but also… they… they just don't deserve this shit and I'm angry as hell at this other person not just for doing what they have done to my friend but for inadvertently putting me in this position and for..."

"Calliope slow down and breathe before you asphyxiate!" Arizona interrupted, turning her full attention to the brunette as she turned her chair towards her and moved to hold both hands instead of just one. Callie was clearly in a panic about whatever this secret was and seeing her in such a state was pulling tightly at her heart strings.

"Look I don't know what this big secret you've stumbled across is, but if it was me, I would want to know whatever it is and not just because it is obviously something that would affect me deeply from what you have just said, but because I wouldn't want you putting yourself through this. That big beautiful heart that you keep locked up and hidden from the world is worth more than being hurt by other people's crap. So whoever it is, go and tell them whatever it is and then all you can do is be the good friend we both know deep down you can be and help and support them in anyway you can and sure they may be angry you for being the messenger to begin with, but when their feelings aren't so raw from the true culprits actions, they will appreciate and respect you and your place in their life a lot more for risking your friendship to help them and for being honest and trustworthy and for showing that you ARE a reliable and dependable friend" Arizona smiled softly, feeling the weight of the brunettes gaze as Callie studied her for any sign of dishonesty.

"So if it was you, and I told you something horrible that broke your heart… you wouldn't hate me?" Callie asked vulnerably and Arizona could feel the uncertainty oozing out of the latina's every pore.

"No Calliope… I could never hate you… I may want to hit you with a brick some days especially when you wake me up in the middle of sleep for random crap, but you have this lovable charm about you… it's very annoying" Arizona teased, her worry deepening when Callie didn't even offer a fake smile, she just continued to scrutinize internally and toy with her fingers nervously.

"It's Jo" Callie offered eventually breaking the silence that had fallen around them as Arizona let her take her time to think.

"Huh?" Arizona asked, unsure of what the brunette meant.

"I heard a rumor about Jo… I have no proof but the person who told me is pretty confident that the person who told them isn't lying and... and I did a bit of digging myself and I'm pretty certain it's true" Callie sighed, too scared to look up and see the hatred or pain in the blue eyes she often found comfort in.

"Ok I'm completely lost here Cal … what about Jo… and I assume by Jo, you mean my girlfriend Jo?" Arizona asked, a little snap in her voice which made Callie worry whether she had done the right thing by opening her mouth, but Arizona had expressly told her that she would want to know.

"I think… I mean… umm.. I was told that she has been having a relationship with a crew member onboard the Greenpeace... well not just one crew member" Callie sighed as she felt Arizona's hands pull away from her own before the blonde stood up and began pacing around her office.

"Ok I'm going to need you to start from the beginning and tell me exactly what you know and how you know it" Arizona asked before glancing at the silent brunette and seeing tears rolling down her caramel cheeks. Without hesitation she quickly made her way over to Callie and knelt down in front of her, taking her hands back within her own clutch and squeezing them tightly.

"Oh Calliope… I'm not angry at you and I certainly don't harbor any ill will to you for being the one to tell me this, I know from what you told me a minute ago how heavily this has been weighing on you and I really do appreciate how amazing a friend you have been to be brave enough to come to me and open up to me despite your concerns and reservations about being the messenger… I promise I'm not mad with you sweetie, do you believe me?" Arizona asked as she tried and failed to meet Callie's tearful eyes, her heart breaking at the pain etched across the crestfallen woman's face as she nodded her acceptance of Arizona's explanation.

"Are you ok Cal?" Arizona asked after a few moments of silence, flinching when Callie scoffed angrily.

"I should be asking you that!" Callie sighed sadly, annoyed at herself for making this moment about herself and her own stupid feelings and not focussing on how Arizona must be feeling right now.

"Hey it's fine… I know that it takes a lot for you to trust someone and let them in and I know that behind all your innuendos and inappropriate jokes you value me and my friendship, so to see you so upset over worrying about me hating you warms my heart" Arizona moved her fingers under Callie's chin and forced the chocolate eyes to meet her own and her stomach tightened at the raw pain that was filling those beautiful big brown eyes.

"That's not why I'm crying" Callie confessed, her voice nothing but a barely audible whisper.

"Then tell me why you are crying because you're kind of scaring me" Arizona whispered back, smiling slightly when Callie rolled her eyes at herself and scoffed.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I'm crying because I'm hurting for you, because I hate what Jo has done and that she has done it to someone as wonderful as you. That my heart hurts because I remember very vividly how I felt that night I walked in on Kara and our neighbor and I hate the thought of you feeling that same way for even a second" Callie sighed sadly.

"I absolutely would believe it, because like I said I am one of the honored lucky few that gets to see this side of you, the true you, the real Callie Torres… and this… what your feeling right now, this compassion and empathy for me… it is exactly who you are deep down and it's the sweetest thing that you so strongly care about those who you have earned a place for you to care about and I do feel so lucky to be in that elite group… but if you can Cal, I would really like for you to tell me everything… I know you don't want to and I know it's not easy or fair of me to put you in this position... so just take a deep breath and rip the band aid off… can you please do that for me" Arizona begged sadly, watching as the brunette followed her instructions and took a long deep calming breath as she nodded.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Callie asked, taking the pale hands still holding her chin back into her own hands and holding them tightly as Arizona nodded.

"Well I was talking to Mark last night and it came up that he knew people who knew people and had heard from a solid source that your girlfriend Jo was having a relationship with the captain of the Greenpeace boat… and his wife… I umm" Callie trailed off nervously.

"Hey it's ok… just get it all out, I need to know no matter how bad it is" Arizona soothed despite the anger and disgust that was erupting inside her soul.

"Well apparently they don't exactly hide their relationship on deck… I got Mark to make a few calls to confirm because I didn't want to risk telling you anything that I wasn't at least 90% certain of and he managed to get patched through to a friend of his ex Lexie, who is on tour with Greenpeace at the moment… we spoke to her for a bit, they are docked over by Alaska at the moment and have been for three weeks while the boat gets some repairs done… which worried me because I'm sure you told me that you spoke to Jo not long ago and she told you they were shipping out that day. Umm.. apparently they are very open about their relationship, not hiding it from anyone but the film crews because they suspect that people outside of the environmental warrior lifestyle wouldn't understand their love triangle... thing… I asked what she knew about Jo's girlfriend Arizona… I'm sorry if that was crossing a line" Callie trailed off her eyes full of concern and so Arizona shook her head and squeezed the unusually cold caramel hand tightly in a silent message that she wasn't upset with her, she just wanted to hear the end of Callie's story.

"Well… she umm… she… God I hate this and I swear if I ever meet this Jo I'm going to show her what a pissed off latina looks like!... this girl, Lexie's friend, she said that she wasn't sure where I got my information from but Arizona was Jo's adopted sister… they stayed in touch but did it on the sly because Jo's parents had caught her adopted sister stealing from them to raise money for drugs and had kicked her out and ordered Jo to have nothing to do with this 'sister' but Jo couldn't cast her aside so was providing what support she could whilst away on tour… god I'm so sorry Arizona" Callie sobbed as tears began to fall freely down ivory cheeks, Callie instantly pulled the blonde into her chest for a hug, opening her legs slightly to allow the kneeling blonde to get closer and allowing her entire body to comfort her friend.

"I'm so, so sorry. Please know im praying that Lexie's friend has it all wrong and is some kind of drunk or i don't know... a delusional psychopath, that everything I just said is wrong" Callie whispered into the broken blondes hair before Arizona jumped up and began pacing the office again.

"I need to call Jo and get to the bottom of this… I mean… I'm not calling you a liar, please don't think I don't trust your word I just…" Arizona trailed off as a sob escaped her trembling lips, Callie rushed to her feet, striding across the office and pulled the sobbing blonde close into her safe embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around her and kissing her temple affectionately, doing whatever she could to show her sympathy whilst comforting the broken woman.

"You just need to hear it for yourself from her own mouth" Callie provided sadly and Arizona nodded numbly in agreement at the brunettes assessment.

"I want you to take the limo and head home, take a few days to get things sorted out, don't worry about anything here I will hold down the fort. But if you need anything you call me and I will be right there… whether you need to just vent or a shoulder to cry on or even just someone to deliver you big greasy bucket of KFC and a box of kleenex, I'm your girl ok… whatever you need just call, anytime night or day" Callie soothed as she stroked the blouse covered back affectionately, silently cursing this bitch Jo for hurting this wonderful woman so much. This women who was all rainbows and sunshine and deserved to be worshipped and loved unconditionally.

"Are... are you sure? You don't mind me just disappearing... I could work from home?" Arizona sobbed as she clung to Callie, her fists wrapped tightly in the back of Callie's expensive blouse.

"Absolutely… and no you are not working from home, you will take a few 'me' days now come on let me help you dry your face a bit so people don't gawp and then I will walk you down to the car. If anyone asks I will tell them you have a tummy bug, sound good?" Callie soothed as she grabbed some tissues from the box on Arizona's desk and began to gently dab and wipe at the tear, mascara and eyeliner stained cheeks.

"Do I look a mess?" Arizona asked self consciously.

"Nah… your rocking the whole KISS look… it suits you, even Gene would be jealous" Callie smirked playfully, relief washing through her when she heard the sad giggle bubble from the thin pink lips.

"Thank you… and I don't just mean for trying to cheer me up… for all of it… you really are a wonderful person Callie" Arizona smiled sadly.

"Hey less of that… I don't want anyone else discovering that I'm not as bad ass as I make myself out to be" Callie winked.

"Your secret is safe with me… but you shouldn't hide this side of you away, one day your going to meet some hot chick who will be totally blown away by the whole package and your going to have to let her in and see the real you, you should start practicing how to do it now... I can be your lab monkey" Arizona smiled sadly.

"I'm sure that if I ever meet the one that's worth risking falling in love again, she would bring out all of my sides, good and bad, whether I wanted her too or not" Callie smiled sadly as she tried to divert her gaze from the blue eyes watching her empathically as she thought about how Arizona had infact done just that. Broken down her defenses and gotten her to expose herself without even trying.

"She's out there Cal, just waiting for the right moment to come into your life… you may even know her already, who knows she could be standing right in front of you and you just don't know it yet" Arizona smiled before realizing how her comment sounded. "oh god I didn't mean me… that was a generalized comment as in…"

"I know what you meant crazy lady… now let's get you down to the car so you can get home and get sorted" Callie smiled sadly as she tried to disguise the pain in her heart ripping through her chest.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N - 502 has spoken, it's my turn... here you go! Sorry for the late posting I was at a birthday party... it was buddha's birthday party... true story... onto some Calzona... enjoy and if enough of you review and give me some love I may be convinced to post the next chapter tonight too... which is one of my favorites.

-oOo-

"FUCK YOU!" Callie spun around as she heard the scream echo through the office floor, everyone now silenced and looking in the direction of Arizona's office in shock and interest. She had taken off the day she had left early and the next day only to return to work on Wednesday claiming it was pointless taking time off when her girlfriend wasn't answering her calls. If Callie had to guess from the loud expletive echoing around the now deathly silent office, Arizona had finally gotten hold of Jo and the conversation wasn't going well.

"Get back to work now... all of you!" Callie ordered in a tone that was so unusually brash and harsh, that everyone jumped to order and began working a little harder than usual in order to not be singled out by a clearly pissed off Callie. The brunette made her way to the blondes office, tapping on the frosted glass panel of the door softly before entering the office to find Arizona pacing the room frantically with the phone held close to her ear. She could hear what she assumed was Jo's muffled voice on the other end of the line.

Arizona felt a presence and spun around almost jumping out of her skin when she found a guilty looking Callie stood staring at her, the second their eyes met Arizona began to crumble as tears filled her eyes. Callie locked the office door and quickly strode across the office to the blonde and wrapped her up in her strong, safe arms. She could hear the muffled woman's voice on the other side of the phone but tried hard not to work to decipher what she was saying, it wasn't her place to hear Jo's explanation and she didn't want to encroach on Arizona's privacy, she just wanted to help to hold the blonde upright until she felt strong enough to stand on her own again.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now… you tell people I'm your junkie adopted sister who was banished for stealing from your family and you expect me to what… just say oh well it was just a lapse in judgment, no harm no foul… are you out of your FUCKING mind Joanne?" Arizona screeched into the phone only relaxing when she felt Callie gently pull her tighter into her embrace before nuzzling into the ear opposite to the one that was against the phone.

"Sweetie, I get that your mad and I'm all for yelling at that cow… but your being a lot louder than you realize and I really don't think you want to make yourself office gossip because people can hear you so just calm down a little bit and try to lower your voice ok? Don't give her the satisfaction of riling you up" Callie whispered gently, smiling to herself when Arizona nodded softly against her face before taking a caramel hand that was resting against her waist and squeezing it in a silent appreciation.

"What… sorry no I am listening, I just… I'm at work and Callie popped her head in to ask me something" Arizona explained a half lie before going silent for a few moments, the tension in her body growing with each word from the other side of the line.

"No… you know what Jo, I'm done. You want to live your life on a damn boat like Steamboat Willie, be my guest. You want to lie to people about who you and your family are… go right ahead. You want to jump into a couples marriage and parade around like your proud of it but then not have the balls to back it up and admit to it… fine. But you will not drag me or my name any further into this" Arizona growled into the phone and Callie felt all kinds of guilty for finding this aggressive, fierce, take no shit Arizona all kinds of sexy.

"Don't worry about your shit… I'll mail it to your parents… or should I say our parents. I really don't need it taking up space in my apartment any longer than it already has… no! don't even try to defend yourself, no one was holding a gun to your head and forcing you to stay with me, YOU begged me to do the whole long distance thing remember, I was dead set against it and you begged me… yeah well I was a fucking idiot then wasn't I" as Arizona's voice began to rise again, Callie took it upon herself to try and calm the blonde down by guiding her to the desk chair and sitting her in it before starting to massage her shoulders to relieve the tension in the tight muscles.

"No I will mail it to your parents house… no… because I don't want your shit in my house or my life and I certainly don't want you coming into my home whenever you finally decide to come back with your husband and wife and getting under my feet… trust me I'm not trying to be funny there is nothing I find funny about this situation other than the fact that you have spent this entire call denying the fact that you're a lying cheating whore and just slipped up and confirmed it… god you really are as dumb as shit… yeah well that's why one of us lives on a boat doing humanitarian work to hide the fact that they have no qualifications or skills they can use in the real world and the other is working for a multi billion dollar firm actually doing something to help fix real world problems… seriously you want to start a debate on the ethics of the company I work for when your having an affair with a married couple, double standards much?" Callie's heart was breaking as she listened to Arizona arguing, it was obvious the blonde was miserable and devastated and just wanted to get off the phone but was reluctant to end the call with Jo having any of the power.

Deciding that she had, had enough of Arizona taking shit from what she very much hoped was her now ex girlfriend, she wracked her brain as to how she could help, sighing when idea after idea entered her mind only to be cast aside as she listened to Arizona and her girlfriend arguing about Torres Industries and the morals and ethics of their projects, and with a smirk the idea hit her like a baseball to the boob.

"Hey Zo… sorry to interrupt…" Callie winked at the blonde as she spun around in shock and horror at the brunette using that name when she had told her weeks ago how her girlfriend called her it continually despite being told over and over how much she truly despised the stupid name, her name was Arizona... no Zo, not Zona, not Ari or any other idiotic acronym people could create from her unusual name.

"I've got those reports you asked for on the breakdowns of homelessness in NYC… the board loves your idea of opening up a shelter, they reckon once it's up and running you will be getting a humanitarian award or two to sit on your desk over at your new job. You know I'd be happy to double your salary to keep you on board, the way your going the president himself is going to be head hunting you… oh shoot are you still on the phone? Did I interrupt anything important" Callie asked sweetly, hoping the bitch on the other end of the line had heard every word and was now feeling knocked down a peg or two by her little bluff.

"Thanks Cal, just leave them on my desk and I will get round to them after I finish my meeting with the mayor later... trust me you weren't interrupting anybody important, just a mistake from my past" Arizona smiled her gratitude over her shoulder to Callie, instantly realizing what game the brunette was playing.

"No worries. Anyways don't forget on Saturday we have that gala to honor all the lives you have changed with your pro bono work… I heard that they were getting Bono from U2 to sing as a tribute to you, would you believe the mayor has requested for our PR department to create a montage of your candid shots from all your projects to play in the background as he sings 'Everybody Hurts'… I swear the mayor has a crush on you" Callie laughed silently behind her hand as Arizona rolled her eyes.

"Too much?" Callie mouthed, grinning when she saw the first real smile grace Arizona's face for the last two days.

"Oh I'm sorry Jo, I completely forgot you were on the line… yeah that was Callie… oh you heard that? It's nothing really, just a little side work I was doing, you know I would have told you about it but you were too busy shagging your husband and wife to call your girlfriend… Hah if it makes you feel better wording it that way, go right ahead… listen I've gotta go I have a meeting and the mayor just arrived… oh no I don't go to him anymore he comes to me, Callie reckons he is trying to butter me up on his bosses orders… oh yes the mayor's boss IS the president I suppose… listen I've gotta run, I'll send your shit to your folks house, good luck with everything Jo" and before Jo even had the chance to answer Arizona hung up and threw her head back dramatically as she released a strained breath.

"Come on future President Robbins… right now I am still your boss and I'm ordering you to finish up early and come hang with me on the boat" Callie ordered as she grabbed Arizona's bag and coat and tossed them to her.

"But what about the mayor… don't tell me you made all that wonderful stuff up, I was all excited for a moment... I want my tribute from Bono" Arizona tried to smirk but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"One day sweetie… but today is not that day… today you and I are going to go hang out and get drunk and bitch about our lying cheating exes and not have to worry about anyone or anything else.

Six hours had passed and what had been an mid afternoon break up in her office now transpired into a late night drinking session with her boss, on her bosses 'boat' which had tured out to be a ginormous yacht which was bigger than both hers and her parents apartments combined, which if Arizona knew anything about boats she could regale you with interesting and impressive facts that would make your jaw gape in envy… but she didn't, and neither did the author... Arizona was a simple girl and so all she could tell you was that it was massive, and extremely expensive looking and was quite honestly one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. It was love at first sight, that was for sure and Arizona felt completely at home on the impressive vessel.

"What's wrong with me Callie?" Arizona mumbled drunkenly with a pout.

"Right at this moment in time? Copious amounts of tequila" Callie scoffed, the affects of the alcohol hitting her just as hard as it had the blonde.

"Calliopeee stop. I'm being serious… tell me what's wrong with me because everyone I get close to I drive away, am I really that unlovable... am I really so hard to love and put up with?" Arizona whined and pouted harder and Callie couldn't help but sigh dreamily at her expressive beautiful face.

"God! No… of course you're lovable…. I dunno maybe people just don't get to see this side of you, I mean when I first met you I thought you were a bit… " Callie trailed off unsure of whether to voice her thoughts.

"Just tell me Cal. When we first met I thought you were a spoiled rich bitch who had single digit IQ and was nothing but a hot piece of ass with no skills outside of the bedroom" Arizona offered openly before giggling at her blunt openess and Callie's shocked reaction.

"Wow don't hold back will you Arizona? Just say what you really mean" Callie scoffed. "but you were wrong you know… I have many skills outside of the bedroom… the first rule to keeping the sex hot is not to restrict yourself to the bedroom" Callie winked which caused Arizona to guffaw and choke on her beer.

"Come on Casanova, tell meeeeee" Arizona whined. "I really want to know! Please Calliope"

"Ok fine, but remember you asked for it… my first impression of you was that your a little… umm uptight….and intimidating… and full on… perhaps you just need to loosen up a little and not be so…. Rargh! Oh, oh and get in touch with your feminine side a little more, you've got an incredible figure you should definitely display it proudly a little more often" Callie offered and despite her level of intoxication she was aware and hopeful that she hadn't hurt the blondes feelings with her analysis.

"Ok… I guess I see what you mean… but.. Do I, do I really come across as rargh?" Arizona eyed the brunette who nodded sheepishly with a guilty smile.

"If it's any consolation… your dad is also extremely rargh when you first meet him" Callie smiled weakly. "so maybe we could hang out and go clothes and makeup shopping one day… make a night of it… grab some dinner and drinks too" Callie tried to ask nonchalantly but the undercurrent of hope of obvious to anyone sober and anyone who was sober would have questioned how it sounded suspiciously like a date, especially the dinner and drinks part.

"Calliope I'm not like the girls that you date. I don't believe in spending hours of my time applying make up and fluffing my hair and squeezing myself into outfits a woman my age has no right wearing…not to mention all the breaches in my ethics about animal tested products… I mean I did that for Jo once or twice at the beginning… but I just… I don't see the point in going to all that effort, if someone likes you they should like you zits an all, not some fabricated version of you" Arizona sighed dramatically.

"Ok firstly… if it goes against your ethics don't do it for anyone regardless of how much you like them and if you want animal conscious products then we will do our research before buying anything, there are plenty of companies out there these days who cater for clientele like yourself and who knows maybe I will find something new that I like too and you can finally convert me to your crazy vegan lesbianic ways and I will end up burning my bra and chanting enchantments around a bonfire during a full moon… and secondly, sometimes you meet someone who is worth going to all that effort for, sometimes you might be lucky enough to meet someone who doesn't make all those things even feel like an effort but more like a luxury that you want to indulge in on special occasions, or even just because..." Callie trailed off as she thought about the blonde and how everything felt so easy with her, nothing truly felt like it took effort when it came to the blonde.

"Where exactly are these people hiding? Who are they and why are they being hidden from me?" Arizona pouted as she took a sip of her beer and grimaced, she would have been happy to keep going with the top shelf liquor but Callie was forcing her to slow down and had switched her onto beer.

"See here's the thing Arizona… this is what I think, and feel free to call me out in it 'coz I'm not exactly known for my healthy relationships and so my relationship advice isn't exactly worth much" Callie laughed when her companion snorted in agreement "but maybe the problem isn't actually you, it's them… from what I know about your exes they are all calculated… it's like you choose them because they have resulted from the 'crazy lady' algorithm in your head because they have flagged as suitors your father would approve of, women that your mom would get on with and trade recipes with and who she would love as a second daughter, and women who match your beliefs and morals…. But see here's the thing… what if that's not what you really want… what if you want someone that doesn't just agree with you on everything but instead challenges you on everything and will debate with you, where they listen to and value your opinions and your side of the argument but they believe in their own argument too, what if they don't want to swap recipes with your mom but instead just get to know her and be friendly and that's enough? And what if they don't get on their knees to kiss your dad's scary ass but instead stand up to him and don't break their eye contact with him from being scared or nervous but hold their own with him. What if what you really want is the opposite of what your searching so hard for?" Callie asked, realizing with a slight blush that she was inadvertently describing herself and hoped that Arizona's inebriation stopped her from picking that up and prompted an awkward conversation that Callie wasn't ready to have, especially not with the amount of alcohol that they both had in their systems.

"Maybe I'm just not romantic person and wasn't built to be in a relationship like that with another person?" Arizona frowned at the thought, saddened by the prospect that she was destined to be alone, to be a lonely barron old spinster.

"Maybe… but I really doubt that, I can imagine that with the right person you would be extremely romantic, and affectionate and I highly doubt a spinster lifestyle is what the future has in store for you" Callie smiled at the thought of what being in a relationship with Arizona would be like.

"Maybe you're right… perhaps I'm just really, really shit in bed" Arizona snorted loudly at the idea.

"Maybe you're onto something… maybe you are just really, really shit in bed Arizona" Callie smirked when the blonde snapped her head to glare at the brunette for agreeing with her.

"Nah… it's not that, definitely not because I'm shit in bed, I am anything but shit in bed Calliope" Arizona tried to wink but instead blinked both eyes slowly which caused Callie to guffaw.

"What makes you so sure of that Arizona… you seem pretty confident in your abilities but perhaps you're a really, really terrible lover… I bet you're one of those pillow princess types, just lays back and enjoys the ride while us real lovers have to work double time… maybe you're a really lazy lover!" Callie teased, trying to ignore Arizona's scowl and keep a straight face.

"Believe me Calliope I am no pillow princess… quite the opposite actually… I'm more like Bugs Bunny in that episode where he plays baseball and is the only player on the team… one second I'm at first base, then second, then third, then a home run, then I'm pitching and then I'm striking and scoring a goal" Arizona smirked proudly at her defense.

"Arizona… do you even follow baseball?" Callie asked softly with a voice full of amusement at Arizona's terrible analogy and description of baseball.

"Nah… never seen a game, why?" Arizona shrugged.

"Never mind Bugs" Callie scoffed.

"Hey don't mock me! I'm being serious here… I'm like… I'm like an octopus with the eight hands… you can feel me touching you in every single place all at the same time… oh and, and! I have done yoga for over two decades so let's just say that I can hold the downward dog for a veeeeerrrrrrry long time and I really mean a very long time" Arizona giggled as she tried to wink and ended up slow blinking with both eyes again.

"Wow… Arizona Robbins the yoga sex god, who knew?" Callie scoffed and shook her head to try and rid herself of the very nice images Arizona had just planted in her head.

"I bet YOU can't do the splits... I can... both types!" Arizona mocked, grinning when she saw the dreamy glazed expression on the brunettes face. Callie was pulled from her very erotic thoughts by a piece of cushion hitting her straight in the face and she couldn't help but laugh at the proud fist pump Arizona gave at her perfect aim.

"What exactly were you just thinking about Calliope?" Arizona asked innocently but the teasing smirk was breaking through.

"Ummm no comment" Callie offered sheepishly, blushing when Arizona laughed openly and she knew she had been caught daydreaming.

"You are such an open book Calliope" Arizona teased as she grabbed her cushion back and hugged it in her lap.

"Hmmm really… what am I thinking right now then?" Callie laughed as Arizona pretended to concentrate and read her mind with her fingers rubbing her temples.

"Wow… umm I can't repeat that… I'm a lady, it wouldn't be proper" Arizona winked and Callie couldn't help but laugh.

"Funny… I was thinking that it's time to get you to bed… I will add to sleep your drunkenness off, just before you slap me because you're thinking I'm trying to make a move on you" Callie grinned cheekily as she got up and held her hand out to help the blonde up.

"You're funny" Arizona grinned as she let Callie help her walk inside the yacht and guide her towards the bedroom she would be staying in.

Once in the bedroom and Arizona was laid down on the bed, Callie headed for some paracetamol and collected a glass of water from the kitchen before returning to Arizona's room, her jaw dropping when she found Arizona's work trousers thrown haphazardly to the side of the room and the blonde fighting to remove her black lacy bra through her sleeve, sensing the blondes frustration at her struggle, Callie put the pills and water down and silently helped the blonde out, trying her hardest to be respectful and not peek at anything on display.

"Hey you finally get to see what I'm wearing to bed" Arizona grinned proudly, not caring in her drunken stupor as she motioned down her body and to the white blouse that was only held together by two mid section buttons, exposing her natural unhinged cleavage, taut stomach and lots and lots of delicious ivory skin. Beneath the bottom of the blouse was a black pair of lace French knickers that matched the bra she had just helped to remove and holy shit did the blonde look hot with her messy windswept hair finishing the look by sweeping around her shoulders. Callie's mouth dried instantly as the sight before her invaded her mind completely and she had to clear her throat in order to breathe.

"Close your mouth Calliope" Arizona smirked when she realized the brunette hadn't responded. "you're going to catch a fly"


	15. chapter 15

"Good morning sunshine!" Callie chirped from the lounge as she cradled a coffee and watched the news quietly to avoid antagonizing her hangover, her attention only gained as she heard movement behind her and guessed it would be the blonde.

"Jesus Calliope not so loud!" Arizona groaned as she dropped weakly onto the couch next to Callie and grabbed the coffee from her hands before taking a long sip from the mug and closed her eyes happily as the flavor overtook her senses. Opening her eyes she handed the coffee back to an amused looking brunette before noticing what she had exited the bedroom wearing... or not wearing as the case may be.

Callie watched with sheer amusement as the confusion turned to alarm and embarrassment as the blondes eyes widened dramatically.

"Why aren't I wearing any trousers... or a bra for that matter... and what the hell happened last night? Wait... oh god.. Did we... last night did we... did we have sex?" Arizona asked as a blush crossed her entire body and she grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch to cover herself up and retain some form of modesty.

"It was a magical night Arizona. You made sounds that I've never heard a woman make before" Callie winked playfully, enjoying seeing the confusion in Arizona's bloodshot eyes.

"Oh god.. I'm that woman!... the one who gets cheated on then gets drunk and has inappropriate sex! And worse, I'm now also that woman who hooks up with her boss! I am never drinking with you again Callie Torres!" Arizona pouted at an amused Callie as her mind reeled in an attempt to salvage any memories from the night before.

"You're extremely easy to wind up when you're hungover, and so you know... those unique noises... you snore really, REALLY badly when you're drunk... like really badly to a degree that you should have it checked out by a medical professional! The dogs in the neighborhood's were howling in response to the sounds coming from you" Callie grinned as Arizona lifted her foot up and kicked her half heartedly before resting her foot on the brunettes lap weakly and covering her eyes with her forearm to hide her embarrassment.

"You're a real bitch Calliope" Arizona offered with a groan.

"Oh I know you told me last night... but I think your exact words 'were a spoiled little rich bitch who had no skills outside of the bedroom'. Thanks for the ego boost by the way, it's good to know that my excellent reputation on pleasuring women has even made it's way to the great Arizona Robbins" Callie grinned before lifting Arizona's foot, sliding off the couch and laying it back down gently before picking up the blonde's other foot and moving to the kitchen to pour two fresh coffee's and some grab some painkillers for the hungover woman.

"Oh god, I love you" Arizona sighed as she swiped the offered coffee and pills and sat up slightly to enjoy them.

"If I remember rightly you said that last night too... right before you begged me to show you said skills" Callie winked teasingly.

"Now I know you are lying!" Arizona glared at the woman sitting at the opposite side of the couch with her feet resting on her lap where Callie had placed them when she sat back down, hoping that she was in fact joking and she hadn't made a pass at her boss whilst drunk.

"No you're right, you told me you didn't need to learn any of my skills because you had skills all of your own, something about being able to do the splits... both kinds!... and being able to hold the downward dog for a VERY long time, and so you know, you were very adamant that I knew that you meant a VERY long time" Callie grinned mischievously as Arizona paled slightly in embarrassment.

"Oh god I told you that?" the blonde groaned weakly as she tried to hide her embarrassment unsuccessfully behind the coffee cup.

"Oh god you told me that" Callie echoed mockingly before laughing at Arizona's pained expression. "I think you told me a lot of new information last night, which I will be sure to drip feed you over the next however long to prolong the enjoyment of this moment. I love having one of those minds that retains information regardless of how much I manage to drink and the ability to only suffer a very mild hangover" Callie smirked.

"I hate you" Arizona moaned.

"Not what you said last night!" Callie teased in a singsong voice.

"Ok... so do you want to explain to me why exactly I have lost my pants and my bra?" Arizona blushed again.

"That Arizona, would be all your own doing! I went to get you some water and painkillers after putting you to bed only to come back to find you undressing and saying something about me finally getting to see what you were wearing to bed" Callie grinned as Arizona blushed even deeper. "If it's any consolation, you seemed really proud of yourself for embarrassing me!" Callies grin faltered as she realized what she had just admitted and that it was likely to spark some questioning, and of course, she was correct.

"Why were you embarrassed? What else did I do?" Arizona asked cautiously.

"Well umm... you may have taken great pleasure in trying to taunt me with your semi naked state when you realized that I was trying to be respectful and not look" Callie shrugged and took a sip of her own coffee hoping to cover her blush as she remembered how the blonde had looked in all the glory of just a blouse and knickers, and boy had that look had never looked sexier and more appealing.

"Why exactly would my semi nakedness embarrass the great womanizer Callie Torres exactly?" Arizona asked with a confused frown.

"Because there was a lot of you on show, and let's be honest here Arizona, you are a very attractive woman and were standing in front of me wearing nothing but some black lace panties and a white shirt which I should mention is a little bit see through, and it's not exactly warm at this time of year... especially at night... on the water... and you umm, you may have been showing me a lot more of yourself than you intended when you thought it would be funny to try and draw my attention to just how little you were wearing, which to be clear, was a lot more than you actually realized!" Callie eyed the blonde nervously, worried about her reaction to Callie having seen so much of her.

"Oh... I'm sorry about that!" Arizona offered. "Wait... hold the damn boat! you are telling me that I was stood in front of you, practically naked and showing you a lot more of my body than YOU should ever have seen... and nothing happened? Great... even the infamous Callie Torres doesn't want to sleep with me, I really do set off a beacon to repel women, don't I?" Arizona scoffed self depreciatively.

"Yeah right, because that's how it happened" Callie mocked quietly under her breath, blushing when Arizona's head snapped to attention to focus on her, clearly she hadn't muttered quietly enough.

"So... if that's not how it happened... please explain to me how it DID happen before I completely drown in self pity and jump overboard because clearly I made a fool of myself last night" Arizona rolled her eyes at her own attempt to lighten to the mood.

"Ok firstly... let's clear this up again because obviously you were too drunk to remember this conversation... there is nothing wrong with you it's the idiots you're choosing, quit picking up women to please your mom and dad... what else? Oh stop looking for someone who fits your profile of an ideal prospective partner and start looking for someone who will keep you on your toes and challenge you... I think that covers the bullet points!" Callie offered with a smirk before her face dropped and her eyes filled with pain.

"Secondly... nothing happened because you are my friend and despite the general consensus I'm not a complete slut that will sleep with anyone and everyone, and I certainly don't take advantage of drunk women who are incapable of making a conscious decision to say no... I'm not a pervert or a rapist or an opportunist for that matter... just because I have enjoyed and participated in commitment free sex for most of my life, doesn't mean that I am some kind of sex pest..." Callie raised her hand to stop Arizona from interrupting her, clearly the blonde had picked up on her pained tone at her accusation, or implication, or whatever you wanted to call it, and Callie wasn't in the mood to listen to an apology right now the more she explained, the brighter the fire glowed in her stomach in anger and pain at the blondes thoughtless words.

"If you really want to know what happened last night I will happily tell you, I walked into the room with the water and pills like I explained earlier and you already had your pants off and you were fighting to pull your bra out of the blouse sleeve, so I stepped in to help you remove it and put it on the bedside table, where I later placed the pants you had tossed to the floor. You made your comment about me seeing you in your sleep wear, then you made a point of making sure I took a good look at what you weren't wearing, and then YOU stepped towards ME and tried to kiss me, when I stepped back and wouldn't let you kiss me because YOU WERE DRUNK, you got a bit upset and emotional and started crying, so I gave you a FRIENDLY hug to comfort you and before you imply anything else, I made sure my hands stayed in a PG appropriate place at all times. When your crying only got worse I led you to the bed and laid you down and YOU begged ME to stay and I took pity on you because frankly, you were a complete mess and so I laid down next to you on the OPPOSITE side of the bed, then YOU cuddled into ME, and I held you until you had cried yourself to sleep before getting up and going to my own bed. The fact that you would even imply that I would jump on the opportunity to fuck you just because you were drunk and were an easy lay really just... well honestly Arizona, it pisses me off and it hurts... a lot!" With that Callie stood from the couch, pushing Arizona's feet from her lap and walked into her own bedroom and slammed the door behind her, leaving a slack jawed Arizona in her wake wincing at the loud bang vibrating through her tender brain.

Arizona jumped from the couch and ignored the throbbing in her head and the nausea spreading throughout her entire body and dashed to the door Callie had just disappeared through, swinging the door open without a thought of invading Callies personal space but the second the door opened she froze in place when she found Callie wearing nothing but a pair of tiny bed shorts that barely covered her full ass cheeks and her flawless caramel back exposed beautifully.

Without thinking it through, Callie spun around and thrust her hands to her hips pointedly as she glared at the intruder, completely forgetting how she was dressed... well, undressed and how she was exposing her naked chest to the blonde.

"What Arizona... wasn't your last insult enough, have you come to accuse me of slipping some roofies in your drink too?" Callie scoffed angrily at the frozen woman who was staring at her chest, Callie glanced down to see what had caught the other woman's attention and instantly blushed when she saw her perky and very naked breasts staring back at her, she spun around and grabbed a t-shirt to throw over her head and cover herself up. "I guess that was my fault too, let me guess, I engineered this argument just to expose myself to you? Am I a flasher now too?" Callie spat with a voice laced with pain and hurt.

"Calliope, just stop! What I said... it was stupid, I was stupid and I was thoughtless and insensitive and nothing I can say will change it now, nor will it make up for the fact that I have clearly hurt and upset you..."

"Hah, don't give yourself so much credit Arizona, in order to hurt me I would have to actually care about you and what you think" Callie pouted as she tried to cover her lie with the Callie Torres mask, which for some reason was failing her miserably.

"Callie please, don't do this... I said something incredibly stupid and I hurt you and for that I am super sorry. You have been an amazing friend to me, especially in the last few days and I really am so disappointed in myself that I repaid you for that by hurting you so deeply. I know I can't just wave a wand and make it all better just by saying sorry... but I want you to know that I AM sorry that I hurt you and I want to make it perfectly clear that I don't think of you as a sex pest, or a pervert, or an opportunist or even a bloody flasher or any of the other things you just listed off out there. I'm not trying to make excuses for my poor behavior here, what I implied was way out of line but between this damn hangover and having my heart broken, my head is so far up my own ass I could play tonsil tennis with myself" Arizona frowned when Callie erupted into laughter.

"That's quite the imagination you have there" Callie offered meekly as she tried to bite down her laughter and look serious and upset again.

"Callie, would you please let me make it up to you by taking you out for breakfast... well lunch. We would have to swing by my place so I can get changed and I promise this time to behave myself whilst undressing and not put you in a position I know you don't want to be in, but please... please accept my apology and at least let me try to make it up to you?" Arizona pleaded and there was no way that Callie could say no to that plea.

"Fine... but no trashy stereotypical lesbian vegan joints!" Callie warned with a forced glare.

"God no... with this hangover I need greasy meat and lots of it!" Arizona promised much to Callies glee.

"And that whole... getting changed without flashing me, that is up for negotiation right? Because I expressly remember that I didn't claim to not enjoy last nights strip show..." Callie trailed off teasingly as Arizona had the grace to blush.

"Nice try Torres, now get dressed so we can go" Arizona scoffed as she left the room in an attempt to go and find her own clothes, oblivious to the fact that upon dashing from the couch to fix the mess she had just created, she had dropped her blanket and once again exposed herself to Callie, who was now watching her ass intently as she walked away, her hips swaying in a way that made Callie drool as the black lace hugged at the bottom of her alabaster ass cheeks and there was no way that Callie could not appreciate the view.

"By the way Arizona, I definitely approve of your choice in sleepwear" Callie called, laughing when Arizona glanced down and stumbled upon seeing her state of undress. She glanced over her shoulder, blushing when she saw Callie's eyes firmly trained on her ass, her head tilted and an obvious desire in her eyes.

"I'm glad you approve Torres... nice tits by the way" Arizona winked, laughing when Callie blushed just as deeply as she remembered flashing her just a few moments before.

-oOo-

"Seriously, you actually want me to eat from here?" Callie asked as she eyed the rundown cafe suspiciously. It looked like any red meat it served would be from the rats they caught in their kitchen.

"What's the matter Princess Calliope, do you not eat anywhere that doesn't have a five star rating? Want me to ask if the chef can drum up some caviar to serve for you on a golden platter?" Arizona mocked with a grin. Her headache finally under control after she had showered and dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and an oversized knitted jumper that hung off her left shoulder.

"Oh haha I get it.. Because I'm a spoiled rich bitch, right? Trust me when I tell you I have eaten some suspicious looking things in my time!" Callie scoffed as she rolled her eyes at Arizona's mocking.

"Trust me Cal... I have seen some of the skanks you have taken home, I'm well aware of some of the dodgy things that you have eaten" Arizona smirked as she grabbed Callies hand and dragged her towards the cafe entrance.

"Wow... hung over Arizona is a little feisty.. I like it!" Callie grinned as she followed the blonde happily.

"Trust me, I can be a lot fiestier than you could imagine!" Arizona winked at the brunette before turning to the server and ordered a full breakfast burger, a steak sandwich, a berry smoothie and a coffee much to Callies amusement. Callie ordered the full breakfast burger and a coffee, smiling when Arizona pushed away her hand offering the server money and paid for their breakfast herself.

"My treat remember, for being an ass" Arizona smiled sheepishly as she led the brunette to a vacant table outside the café.

"I think we agreed that you were a giant ass!" Callie laughed. "do you think you went overboard on the food there?" Callie asked as she took the offered seat with a smile and watched as Arizona took the seat opposite her, the seat without a view. The blondes thoughtfulness and chivalry taking her by surprise despite it being something she experienced on a daily basis now.

"What? Are you kidding? I have been comfort eating the last few days and thought I should order a light meal" Arizona shrugged with a grin.

"Wait... you're telling me that you honestly think your going to finish a full breakfast burger and a steak sandwich... and the smoothie?" Callie scoffed disbelieveingly.

"Care to wager on it?" Arizona challenged with a raised eyebrow.

"You know I don't back down from a good wager... what do I win when you can't finish it all?" Callie teased with a suggestive wink.

"What do you want? Name it!" Arizona grinned confidently.

"What anything?" Callie asked, laughing when Arizona looked at her pointedly with a single eyebrow raised in warning for her to not push it. "Confident aren't we? Ok when you can't finish ALL your food, you have to spend the rest of the day shopping with me, no complaints, no whining and most of all, no environmental or animal rights lectures... we go where I choose, we do what I choose and we buy what I choose, no arguments" Callie raised her eyebrow with a smirk.

"Done! And when I finish ALL my food, and probably finish yours off too... then you have to... umm... oh I know... you have to spend the rest of the day doing anything of my choosing, exactly as directed, without any complaints or cheating... deal?" Arizona grinned as Callie eyed her suspiciously, not realizing that the blonde was already planning several humanitarian excursions for the brunette to see first hand how the other side lives, excursions that would involve the heiress to really get her hands dirty as she got a confronting hands on exposure to the other side of NYC.

"You have yourself a deal blondie, AND the winner chooses the dinner that the loser is paying for" Callie added, trying to hide her joy that either way she would be spending the day with the blonde, either way she would consider herself the real winner here.

"That's fine... I will make sure I choose what your buying me for dinner wisely, what was your earlier description of a stereotypical lesbian vegan joing?" Arizona teased smugly as their food was brought to the table and couldn't contain her laughter when Callies eyes bulged at the size of the breakfast burger placed in front of her before glancing disbelievingely at the buffet that had been placed before the blonde.

"There is no way your skinny ass can finish all of that!" Callie mocked as she took a sip of her coffee, grinning in surprise at how good it tasted.


	16. Chapter 16

"Oh come on Callie... it was mushrooms... do you know how much I HATE mushrooms, especially fried mushrooms! I forgot to ask to have them removed... you can't make me lose for not eating something I HATE I did eat EVERYTHING else" Arizona whined an hour after they had finished eating as Callie dragged her towards the shops she had chosen to start at, it had been a long walk to get there, but after Arizona's impressive meal, she figured the blonde could do with the work to burn off the disgusting amount of calories she had impressively consumed.

"Stop being a sore loser Arizona! you set the wager, you stipulated that you would eat EVERYTHING, and you didn't eat EVERYTHING so you lost, suck it up princess" Callie laughed at the blondes pout as she dragged her into the first shop and began grabbing items and piling them into Arizona's arms without even glancing at the blonde, she could hear the pout in her whine as clear as day.

"I hate you... you're forcing me to shop when you know I HATE shopping and all because I wouldn't eat some stupid mushrooms because I HATE them" Arizona whined immaturely, and if Callie had to admit, adorably.

"There are a lot of things that you hate today whiney, aren't there?" Callie winked as she threw a dress onto the growing pile.

"How is it possible to pick this many clothes, have you seen the size of your wardrobe, surely you have enough clothes" Arizona scoffed over the heavy pile in her arms.

"Lesson number one Arizona, a girl can never have too many clothes..."

"Oh... this is rich coming from the woman who congratulates women on their pregnancies when they arent even pregnant" Arizona scoffed as Callie turned to glare at her with a pointed eyebrow.

"As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me! A girl can NEVER have too many clothes Arizona and here's just a little bit of relationship advice because I'm feeling generous, when your shopping with a girl, never ever complain or show any signs of disinterest... it's your job as a dutiful girlfriend to smile sweetly and provide nothing but supportive compliments with that dimpled smile of yours" Callie warned as she grabbed a blouse and eyed it before putting it back on the rack. "Anyway, these aren't for me... these are for you to try on" Callie smirked as she awaited the blondes rebuttal.

"What... no... no way Callie! you've actually lost your mind in a fit of post winning ecstasy!" Arizona glared at the pile of clothes in her arms before returning her glare to the shit eating grin now adorned on the latina's face.

"Actually Ms Robbins, as my attorney I'm sure you are well aware of the terms of our wager, and you have to do what I say and I say that I'm buying you a new wardrobe, and I say that you have to just sit back, smile and enjoy it, now get those dimples in a changing room and I want to see everything you try on! My seal of approval is required on every garment" Callie ordered as she shoved the blonde towards the cubicle with a smug smile.

"I hate you!" Arizona declared as she tossed the pile onto a shelf and whipped the curtain closed in frustration.

"So you keep saying, now shut up and try and undress without flashing me this time" Callie mocked from the opposite side as she dropped into a chair and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Come on Arizona, quit stalling!" Callie called a few minutes later, only for Arizona to pull the curtain aside immediately and stomp from the cubicle before turning in a full circle and throwing her hands out to the side in a 'well?' motion as she glared at the elated brunette.

"Well what do you think?" Callie asked innocently as she eyed the blonde up and down appreciatively.

"I think that I'm wondering how exactly you knew my dress size without having to ask me?" Arizona asked pointedly as she studied the brunette who shrugged in amusement.

"Good guess I suppose... now do you like it or not... be honest or you will end up spending my hard earned money on clothes you will never wear, you may as well get things you will wear!" Callie smirked at the defeat written on Arizona's face.

"I hate you" Arizona groaned causing Callie to laugh her honest laugh loudly, gaining the attention of all of the shoppers and staff in the shop.

"You love me... now what do you think?" Callie smirked triumphantly.

"Fine! If you must know I don't mind it... the skirts nice but the blouse is a little... frilly!" Arizona proved her point by grabbing and wafting the exaggerated frill that ran down the center of the blouse, glaring when Callie sniggered at the action.

"Good... now try on the next thing and toss the blouse out when you have taken it off... oh and remember to close the curtain, we don't want all these fine people to get the show you gave me this morning" Callie ordered with a laugh as she shooed the blonde away with her hands.

-oOo-

Evening was wearing on and Arizona loathed to admit it but she had actually really enjoyed her day with Callie, she had never been one to go on shopping sprees, usually she would walk into the first shop she came across, grab the first item that caught her eye and bought it without even trying it on. But today they had taken their time browsing each stores offerings and trying on several outfits each and Arizona had really enjoyed it, she would never confess these thoughts to the brunette, no admitting these things out loud would only result in Callie's smug smirk and endless ribbing, but deep down she had enjoyed it and if the opportunity to re-enact this day arose, she would accept willingly... well not willingly, she would have to throw some protests out into the universe to keep Callie unsuspecting of her enjoyment, but she would accept willingly.

As the day wore on Arizona had eventually declared that if Callie was choosing things for her to try on then it was only fair for Arizona to choose things for Callie to try on and being a good sport, Callie had risen to the challenge when Arizona had first picked out a god awful dress for the brunette to try on, laughing as the brunette strode confidently from the changing room as if she was wearing a killer outfit, unphased by Arizona's teasing.

And so the game had begun of finding the worst combinations in each store and forcing the other to try them on at the same time as they unveiled their creative masterpieces of disgustingness to each other in fits of giggles, not caring that they were behaving like teenagers, nor caring about the disapproving looks they were receiving from the store workers, who quickly reigned in their distaste when the Callie would drop hundreds of dollars worth of items at the checkout.

The outfits had started out fairly bland but had quickly escalated into some of the worst, most disgusting clothing choices known to man with Arizona having to adorn a lovely golfesque creation featuring a pair of pink and purple checkered pants, a pink polo shirt and a cream knitted jumper thrown over her shoulders, complete with a pink and purple checkered flat cap, however Arizona's favorite had been a 'Trump for President' t-shirt that she had forced the brunette to wear despite Callies protest's that if her father ever found out she would be disowned. Arizona had demanded photographic evidence of every outfit to bribe the brunette with later in life and Callie had happily obliged just to see the smile on the blondes face after the shipwreck her week had been so far, and she couldn't deny that after each unveiling, she was enjoying having to cuddle up close to Arizona in order for them to fit both full outfits in the selfie, again acting like teenagers and not particularly caring.

"One last shop before you buy the winner winner some chicken dinner" Callie smirked proudly as she reminded Arizona yet again that she had lost their wager.

"Fine winner winner, where to next?" Arizona asked as she shuffled several dozen bags around on her hands to relieve the pressure from their weight and glared at the equal collection of bags in Callies hands. She dreaded to think how much the brunette had spent today, and more importantly what better uses that money could have been put to, but she had agreed to no complaints, arguments or lectures and so she bit her tongue and smiled sweetly, dimples included at Callie's orders.

"You'll see" Callie grinned as she led the way, happy that the blonde had stopped grilling and second guessing her at every store and had instead let herself relax and just enjoy the day and from the easy relaxed smile on the blondes face as they walked around, she could tell that her plan to cheer the other woman up had worked a treat.

"No! Absolutely not Calliope... no! You are not taking me in THERE!" Arizona gasped as she looked ahead and saw the sex store in the direction they were walking.

Callie glanced at the object of the blondes attention and horror and smirked, she had been leading the blonde into a pet store next door to eye up the puppy's to see if she could get away with a cute fluffy pooch to be her mascot, something she had seen the likes of Paris Hilton and her friends doing and had secretly always wanted to copy and have a cute little lap dog to spoil of her own, but upon seeing the mortification on the blondes face at her misassumption, she quickly changed her direction and headed straight for the sex shop just knowing that this could be so much fun.

"Callie stop, no! Look, I have been very game with you today, but I am not going into a sex shop with YOU of all people!" Arizona whispered harshly, gulping when Callie spun to eye her with her Torres glare. "No not because I think you're a sex pest or a pervert... which by the way, if the cap fits... That's all I am saying right now! But I'm not going in there with you because you're my boss not my girlfriend and it's highly inappropriate" Arizona glared at the brunette and fought the blush creeping up her neck and threatening to explode into her cheeks.

"Oh please! stop being such a prude Arizona, do you know how many sex shops I have been in with Sloan, calm down will you!" Callie scoffed.

"Wait... why exactly are you visiting sex shops with Mark Sloan... are you and Mark..." Arizona glanced around to make sure they didn't have any onlookers before making a suggestive and extremely immature motion with her fingers much to Callie's amusement.

"Ewww! Why would you even say that... god now that image is stuck in my head, and you call ME a pervert! For the record Mark Sloan and I are friends, only friends, and have never been anything more than friends... actually that's a lie, he was my boyfriend for like a week when we were in kindergarten if that counts... and when he kissed me on the cheek I slapped him and dumped his sorry perverted ass, actually I haven't teased him about turning me off men for life for a while... can you remind me to do that on Monday please" Callie smiled sweetly. "Wait... hang on... Arizona were you... were you just jealous of Sloan?" Callie gasped teasingly, grinning her shit eating grin when Arizona instantly blushed and begun shaking her head negatively.

"What? Of course not! I was just intrigued as to why you're doing this kind of shopping with Mark!" Arizona lied to both Callie and herself as she followed the smirking brunette begrudgingly through the door and smiled sheepishly at the server who smiled at the two women before turning her attention back to her phone.

"Because Sloan is my best friend and we share most things... there literally isn't a topic we don't discuss and sometimes he likes a woman's perspective on certain things and he is very handy to have around to give the thumbs up on certain outfits one may purchase in an establishment like this" Callie shrugged as she bit her lip and fought off the images entering her mind of Arizona dressed in some of the outfits displayed right in front of her.

"What exactly could a lesbian give a straight man advice on in a sex shop Callie" Arizona scoffed as she focused her attention on brunette and not on anything else around her, something Callie instantly picked up on and jumped on as she grabbed the first item she could put her hands on and tossed it playfully at Arizona who shrieked at the fluorescent purple butt plug demo that hit her chest before falling to the floor with an echoing clatter.

Arizona glanced at the server with a blush who smirked in return at the brunettes antics. "can I help you ladies with anything today, we have a 30% off on our harness range at the moment" The server called over and tried to bite back her laughter at the mortification on the blondes face and the sheer amusement on the brunettes.

"We're good thanks" Arizona smiled weekly, it wasn't that she was a prude, nor was it that she hadn't visited a sex shop or two in the past... she just had never been in one with her extremely inappropriate boss and it was an experience she never wanted to have and wasn't particularly enjoying and knowing how much amusement Callie was getting out of this awkward moment irritated her even further.

"Actually we could use some help, my friend here needs some advice on something that will help her loosen up a bit!" Callie smiled sweetly and ignored the blonde who kicked her shin in annoyance whilst whispering profanities at her so that the assistant wouldn't hear her foul rant "Ouch there's no need to be shy sweetie! This nice lady is used to meeting people who aren't sure what they want in the bedroom" Callie bit her lip to bite back the bark of laughter threatening to escape at Arizona's horrified expression.

"Oh I can help with that, have you had any experience with toys before?" the server approached them much to Arizona's dismay.

"Yes she has... this one is a know it all when it comes to vibrators" Callie answered for Arizona, throwing a teasing wink at the blonde who was doing her best impression of a turtle and was trying in vain to retreat her head directly into her body to hide until this whole embarrassing experience was over.

"Oh that's good, so you prefer something that vibrates?" The woman Callie now knew was called Sophie from the name tag, asked warmly.

"Yes she does... come on don't be so shy Arizona!" Callie teased, knowing she would pay for this later but couldn't resist toying with the blonde as much as she could, afterall coming in here was Arizona's suggestion, Callie had just wanted to buy a puppy.

"That's ok, not everyone is comfortable with expressing their sexual fantasies and experiences" Sophie smiled non judgementally at the blonde before leading the two women to an aisle containing vast array of vibrating sex toys much to Callie's glee. She eyed the blonde from the corner of her eye and laughed internally at the pure mortification written all over Arizona's face.

"So we have separated the toys out into categories, on the left is the vibrators that are more realistic and are organized into length top to bottom and girth left to right, the smallest and thinnest starting at the top left and the big boys at the bottom right, then you have the more abstract styles organized in the same way, then you have the 'hands free' section with the control connected devices at the top and the portable controlled devices at the bottom, and finally the partner and duo sets starting with the cheapest and most basic at the top and the more advanced and expensive devices at the bottom" Sophie advised as she pointed each section out to the two women as she spoke, smirking when Callie began picking a few items up to inspect them as she spoke and Arizona inspected her shoes, intently.

"If It would make you more comfortable Miss, we could ask your partner to maybe take a look through the lingerie section and we could pick something out for you in private?" Sophie suggested, taking pity on the obviously uncomfortable blonde as Callie ignored them both, too interested in the array of toys spread out for her to look at. She was like a child in... well a toy store, and she wasn't in the slightest shy about picking up the demo items and switching them on and flicking through their settings with interest, all thoughts of teasing Arizona gone.

"Oh shit, I didn't know this was on the market yet I didn't think the prototype had received approval yet. Tell me is it true that this thing is remote control and can be teamed up with several other devices, like a huge remote control sex toy orgy?" Callie asked as she grabbed a package containing a set of vibrating panties and it's matching remote control with interest.

"Yes this model has only just been released in the last week. It's an upgrade of the original model with extra speeds, intensities and vibration patterns and yes it can be paired with a second or even a third device using an advanced pairing program that stops the paired devices from being confused if you are around anyone else wearing their own devices which aren't paired up with your grouping, it also boasts to run from being paired with your cell phone so regardless of where you are or where your partner is in the world, they can still be controlled remotely. It's charged by the removable vibrating pad and bullet being placed in the discrete container that doubles up as a wireless charger, which has it's own battery store for charging discreetly on the move. The manufacturer has also upgraded the actual vibrating components so that they are practically soundless now, so if you are enjoying it in public, there is no way it can be detected, we just don't advise that you wear it on an airplane as not only could the device interrupt the planes onboard computers, but it could be a little awkward to explain to security when the metal detectors pick up some of the parts it is made from" Sophie smiled as the brunette absorbed her every word before tucking the packaged device under her arm to purchase.

"And would you like a second device for your girlfriend, I have been trained on how to partner the devices so we can have them ready to go for you" Sophie asked as she eyed the very quiet blonde.

"Oh no! she's not my girlfriend" Arizona offered shyly. "She is actually my boss"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have just assumed" Sophie laughed softly at her mistake in hopes that it would ease the blonde.

"That's ok Sophie... I only brought her with me because she keeps messing up at work and it's been brought to my attention that it's been a while since she actually got off, so I'm hoping if I can get her to have a quick orgasm she might quit costing my company thousands of dollars a day" Callie offered with a straight face, ignoring the disbelieving and horrified glare Arizona was throwing at her and the uncomfortable coughing fit Sophie had suddenly erupted into.

"Please excuse her, she thinks she is funny but she is actually just a giant asshole!" Arizona muttered between her teeth as she stared Callie down, the smug smirk on the brunettes face encouraging her to find an item to beat her with, which considering where she was stood, the closest item would be a rubber penis.

"See what I mean, if she could just have an orgasm, perhaps she would lighten up a bit and take a joke... the funny thing is, I run a clinic for penile dysfunction... I literally spend all day trying to fix men who struggle to get off and here is this one who is fully capable of getting off but refuses to... the irony in it hasn't passed me by" Callie grinned, loving every moment of this as she grabbed a second device for Arizona from the shelf and sauntered away leaving Arizona and Sophie watching her in shock.

-oOo-

"Come on Arizona, you can't sit the entire meal without talking to me" Callie scoffed as Arizona ignored her. It had been forty five long silent minutes since they vacated the store, not including the twenty minutes they were in the shop whilst Callie finished up her selecting her purchases as Arizona stood by the door waiting for her with a pissed off expression.

"I can, and I fully intend to" Arizona spat, glancing in disgust at the in brunette when she giggled.

"Got you to talk... oh come on it was just a bit of fun, don't be such a tight ass" Callie pleaded.

"You were making fun of me... in a sex shop... to a total stranger!" Arizona whispered through gritted teeth so no one else would overhear.

"I was having fun in general, not making fun of you and we happened to be in a sex shop which you suggested we entered, and would you rather I made jokes in front of people you know?" Callie offered a sheepish smile hoping to soothe the blonde.

"Callie, you embarrassed me. That woman did not need to know that I havent had a... you know WHAT In a long time!" Arizona hissed before glancing around them again to make sure that there was definitely no one listening.

"Why do you think she would care when the last time you had sex was?" Callie asked confused, shying away when Arizona glared at her incredulously before scanning around them again.

"Jesus keep your voice down will you!" Arizona snapped. "and I don't think she would care, but that doesn't mean she needs to know or that I wanted her to know, and you shouldn't even know for fucks sake!" Arizona glared at her dining companion.

"Ok... look I didn't think the joke through, I would have said the same things if it was Mark with me, or Addison, or even Aria! It just so happened that the person I pulled the joke on just happens to be having a dry spell and took it to heart, it was tasteless I guess and I'm sorry that I upset you, I intended to make you uncomfortable for the sake of the joke, but I didn't mean to upset you and for that I AM sorry and I am especially sorry that I ruined what had turned into a really nice day with you, I mean it Arizona, I was having a really good time just hanging out with you and I'm sorry for ruining that" Callie sighed as she played with her napkin contritely.

"Exactly how sorry are you?" Arizona asked and when Callie glanced up she saw the mischief in those startling blue eyes.

"I'm not even going to try and argue, just hand me my punishment!" Callie rolled her eyes and awaited as Arizona smirked turned slightly evil.


	17. Chapter 17

"Holy shit Robbin's this is gold! How did you even make this happen?" Alex grinned as he stormed into Arizona's office without knocking and adorning a beaming smile that resembled a six year old on Christmas morning that had just lifted the lid to a gift wrapped box to find a puppy with a huge red and gold bow tied around it's neck. Yes people, that was one hell of a happy smile on Alex Karevs face!

"Don't ask questions Karev, just bask the moment whilst it lasts and commit every glorious second of it to memory!" Arizona laughed as she spotted the flyer in Alex's hand containing a photo of Callie smiling sweetly as she shook hands with an amused looking Donald Trump as the notorious Callie Torres wore a 'Trump for President' t-shirt over a delightful pair of pink and purple checkered golf pants with a matching flat cap and her trademark, insured, billion dollar smile firmly plastered on her face. If you were to study the picture closely enough, the embarrassment, shame and humiliation was shining brightly in her eyes. But Callie Torres had taken her punishment like a champ, even walking round NYC until they found Trump and waited for him to appear, of course Arizona had stipulated that the moment was to be in public, that way anyone could enjoy the moment and share it via social media with their friends and family.

"Has the big man seen this yet? He is going to actually hit the roof knowing that Callie actually made a fool of herself to his biggest business rival and real life arch nemesis... I mean it's like Robin taking a mock selfie with the joker and batman finding out about it" Alex giggled mischievously.

"Alex.. you need to get out more! She's up there right now, he called me knowing she would be hiding out in here thinking I would protect her from his wrath and demanded that she get her... and I quote... idiotic, immature, foolish and soon to be unemployed ass in his office before he dragged her there himself by her ear" Arizona smirked, not feeling in the slightest guilty about getting Callie in trouble with her father, she deserved the pay back as far as she was concerned.

"Dude, to be a fly on the wall in that office right now, I'm surprised we can't hear the screaming fit from here" Alex chuckled as he pinned the picture proudly on Arizona's cork board on the wall besides her desk. "You know the press will eventually get a hold of this and will go nuts with it" Alex mused.

"I'm secretly hoping they do, but don't tell the boss lady that" Arizona grinned cheekily. "Don't worry Alex, Callie already has something up her sleeve for when the rags get a hold of the picture"

"Arizona, there's an Erica Hahn to see you. She said she heard about the job vacancy and would like to interview for it" Callie's secretary Pippa announced as she popped her head through the door with a smile.

"She is aware that there is a recruitment process and you don't just walk into a job like this off the street?" Arizona questioned with a hint of confusion and sarcasm.

"Dude didn't you just walk up to Callie in the street and get offered a job on the spot?" Alex offered with a smirk until Arizona glared at him pointedly and he quickly jumped up and left the two women to it, clearly having taken the hint that he had outstayed his welcome.

"She said she understands that it is a little unorthodox but she wanted to take a chance and speak with you in person about obtaining an interview, said she went to Harvard and is in New York for a conference and decided to just pop in whilst she had some free time between lectures and speak with you, asked if she could just take five minutes of your time to introduce herself" Pippa offered with a hopeful smile, in truth the awaiting woman was a little brash and had not taken no for an answer when told that Arizona didn't accept walk-in's and she would need to email her request for a meeting, she was hoping to get Arizona to agree if only so she didn't have to return to the other woman and turn her away and face the wrath of disappointing her.

"Fine, show her in... and Pip... stop taking advantage of my charitable mood!" Arizona winked at the woman she had worked closely with for close to a year knowingly. The redhead chuckled as she spotted the photo that was working it's way around the office, of course she had been the person Arizona had gone to in order to get the photocopies of it... lots and lots of photocopies, and Pippa had willingly obliged before scanning the image into her computer for safe keeping for the future. Pippa ducked out of the office only to return a few moments later.

"Arizona, this is Erica Hahn for you. Ms Hahn, I assured Arizona that you would only interrupt her busy schedule for five minutes. Buzz me when you're finished Arizona and I will show Erica the way out" Pippa smied apologetically before making a strategic exit and lumbering Arizona with the demanding woman.

"Ms. Robbins, it's a pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh" Erica smiled tightly as she offered her hand.

"Please, call me Arizona... take a seat" Arizona offered after shaking the cold bony hand that had been offered to her. "What can I help you with today Ms Hahn?"

"Well I was in the area on a conference and had heard that you were moving on to pastures new and decided to take the initiative and introduce myself in person whilst I could. I would love to move down to New York and I have been eyeing your position since it was announced that you were leaving, and the timing was just right, I was hoping that I could arrange for an interview whilst I'm in town" Erica offered another tight smile which Arizona could only liken to a sneer.

"Right... I don't suppose you have a resume on hand?" Arizona asked as she studied the woman opposite her as she nodded and dug into her briefcase before producing a resume and handing it over and starting to speak without allowing Arizona a second to even look over the resume that was now impotently laid in her hands.

"I don't have a strong background in property law, but then neither did you when Ms Torres brought you on board and you have achieved some amazing things" Erica forced out, determined to make a good impression on the disgustingly perky woman sat opposite her. "and I have never met Ms Torres but in Public Policy Magazine several months ago I read a quote from her which completely blew my mind it said... wait, would it be extremely uncouth of me to quote her in an interview to work with her?" Erica asked herself but Arizona answered.

"It doesn't sound creepy yet so please continue" Arizona had to swallow her smirk when she received a look of complete distaste.

"Well she said that architecture can shape a community and turn strangers into neighbors. The right design for a park can make people feel safe and that school buildings can be functional as well as beautiful so the kids feel engaged instead of imprisoned. And when I read that, it made me feel like I'd be working for a cause and not just a company." Erica supplied, not noticing Arizona cringing at how she had butchered the quote as she forced herself to hide her obvious distaste by scanning the resume laid on her desk.

"Okay. You're hired... who are you?" Callie joked as she breezed into the office and dumped herself down on Arizona's couch dramatically.

"You're Callie Torres!" Erica smiled honestly for the first time and Arizona couldn't help but grimace as the woman's fakeness.

"Someone has to be. Although you should know that Arizona actually wrote that quote, I just claimed it as my own" Callie smirked before winking at the blonde teasingly.

"Nope, that was pretty much all your work I just added a little bit to it, I remember because I was genuinely shocked that you could word something so elegantly yourself... or just word something for yourself in general" Arizona glanced at the brunette with a playful smile, it had been like this all morning, the two of them bantering back and forth while Arizona worked and Callie hid from her father and although she knew it was unprofessional in front of company, she couldn't control herself.

"Look at that, we have been working together for so long now that it's hard to remember where you start and I finish" Callie scoffed and Arizona couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement. "So who exactly are you?" Callie asked as she tore her gaze from Arizona to study the other blonde, instantly noticing that her hair shade wasn't natural and she didn't sport the blonde look anywhere as well as Arizona, but she still had a certain attractiveness to her just not anywhere near the degree Arizona had.

"Oh sorry Cal, this is Erica Hahn, she was in town on a conference and came to ask for an interview for my job" Arizona offered sadly, as more time passed she was beginning to regret her decision to leave now that Callie's constant demands on her time had lessened and the time she did share with the brunette was now more enjoyable.

"I was just telling Ms Robbins that it was incredibly presumptuous of me to come waltzing in here demanding her audience but Arizona was kind enough to entertain my intrusion" Erica offered as she smiled warmly at the brunette and Arizona felt her skin crawling in annoyance.

"Sorry Arizona, it's the zoning commission calling about the wharf proposal... Oh hey Cal, glad to see your head still on your shoulders" Pippa popped her head back into the office, smirking at Callie in amusement as she instantly recognized her chided child face and received a subtle middle finger for her comment.

"Thanks Pip... Erica, why don't we set up a proper interview for tomorrow?" Arizona suggested against her better judgment once Pippa had left.

"That's ok Arizona, you deal with the comish and I will finish up with Erica" Callie offered as she rose from the couch and motioned for Erica to follow her.

"Oh... are you sure Cal? I don't mind dealing with it tomorrow" Arizona offered dejectedly.

"Of course, the quicker I hire someone the quicker you can get out of here and I will stop annoying you" Callie smiled sadly as she opened the door for Erica and motioned for her to go ahead, a respectful move which she had picked up from the chivalrous blonde.

"Ok, thanks I guess... oh how did the meeting with Mr Torres go?" Arizona asked worriedly but not wanting to give anything away to their eavesdropper.

"Umm, he wasn't too enthralled with the PR we gave him and requested in future that we run all suggestions through him prior to going ahead with things. He also offered to take some responsibilities off my hands should I not get the floor under control immediately and suggested that any future dealings with the high end competitors be left for him to deal with. It was a tense meeting but we both left with a solid understanding of where things stood at present" Callie offered cryptically, winking at Arizona to show that she wasn't upset with her about receiving a bollocking from her father and being threatened to be tossed out of the business if she didn't grow up and get her act together.

"I would consider your new office decoration before he visits next though, there was mention that if he saw any more of our PR shots around the office he would be hiring someone to permanently them and their owners... oh and I assured him that it was my idea alone and both you and Mark advised me against it but I did it anyway... we are even now Michelangelo" Callie grinned before closing the door and guiding Erica towards her own office to resume the interview.

Arizona couldn't help the smile that had spread across her face that Callie had saved her ass instead of handing her over to save face with her father. Picking up the phone on her desk, she entered the call waiting and began ploughing through the never ending list of issues on T.I.'s latest project, The Wharf.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N- Wowzers! You guys really did not like the introduction of Erica did you? I thought it was a juicy twist to spice things up and cause maybe a little jealousy, maybe some confliction from good old Callie, maybe even make Arizona realize her true feelings... hell for all we know Erica is maybe buttering Callie up to get into Carlos! Ok... I will admit at least one of those scenario's are just me being silly to put you off the scent of what's to come!

Now some have commented that it's time they just got together already... oh i totally agree, however sometimes love doesnt pan out how we want it to! So without giving any spoilers, I will just say to those getting worried that it will take them a few more weeks worth of chapters before they finally shack up... Callie has already realised her feelings, and as someone who lives the life of being a bachorlette and having to only think about herself, she is having to grow in her own skin... it happens sometimes, sometimes you just need a little bit of time to get used to the things you are feeling and make the changes for yourself and not just jump in and work it out later... maybe Callie knows that the 'person' she is right now isnt the kind of person who deserves an Arizona and she wants to grow and evolve till she feels worthy? and is there anything wrong with that? Soon Arizona will start questioning things... maybe she just needs a little kick up her butt to start opening her eyes... maybe that's why Erica is here... maybe Erica will have nothing to do with the process, i guess you are just going to have to trust me on this! but have no fear... you wont have to wait too much longer, i promise within the next 10 chapters you will have some fluff!

For now... heres a little more bonding time with out girls with a chapter that made me crack up writing it... just close your eyes and imagine being poor Callie in this chapter... poor, poor Callie!

-oOo-

"Go Yankie's" Arizona yelled half way through the game that Callie had dragged her begrudgingly to, claiming that she was a terrible lesbian and needed to learn something about baseball after a terrible analogy she had apparently offered in a drunken stupor, and sitting there in her navy Yankees cap and a giant foam finger, both courtesy of Callie, she couldn't deny that she wasn't loving the atmosphere and really enjoying herself. Well she would be if she didn't have the elephant in the room, well... stadium, sitting tauntingly on her shoulders.

"So tell me... what are your thoughts on Hahn?" Arizona asked eventually, trying hard to disguise the jealousy in her voice, she had no idea where this irrational jealousy had come from all of a sudden, but it was there and she was trying to fight it.

"Yeah... I really loved her, I think she will end up being a great fit for T.I." Callie offered before returning her attention to the game.

"Good... that's... great! super!" Arizona forced out as she studied the brunette from the corner of her eye and sighed at the happiness written all over her face. If only Arizona knew that the origins of Callie's smile was from getting to spend yet more hours hanging out with Arizona in a 'date' like environment and wasn't as the blonde wrongly suspected, due to Erica Hahn.

"Yeah she is great... she flattered me unashamedly. Looking at her style too she would have no issues with helping me pick out my furniture when I restyle the apartment... she's exactly what I am looking for and sure she may be a bit inexperienced in the property law department, but so were you and if anything you have proved to me that it's worth taking a risk sometimes. Anyways we went out for a drink after her conference was finished last night and talked a bit more, she's clever... she's obviously not as clever as you, not many people are, but I don't think she would struggle too much to step into your shoes" Callie offered as she kept her eyes on the game.

"Oh you... you met up with her for drinks last night?" Arizona asked dejectedly.

"Yeah... she was only meant to be in town till today, but after I offered her the position she decided to get a packing company to get her stuff for her whilst she stays in town to start her hand over with you on Wednesday. She had nowhere to stay so I organized a room for her at the T until she get's on her feet. Oh and I invited her to the team building day, it turns out she played tennis through uni so I thought I could have an ace up my sleeve" Callie grinned, oblivious to the pained and obviously jealous expression on the blondes face.

"I can play Tennis too you know!" Arizona practically spat before closing her eyes in embarrassment at her jealous reaction.

"Oh don't think I have forgotten that time I forced you to be my practice buddy for that charity event... I think that day will always stay with me... who knew someone so small and compact could have such a back hand on her.. I think I'm still suffering the after effects from the concussion you gave me" Callie scoffed.

"Hey... you told me to give it my best shot, it's not my fault your ego is so big that your head takes up the entire court" Arizona smirked at the memory.

"Suck it Robbins... you just need to practice your aim better. Tell me has your new friend helped to relieve any of that built up tension and anger... perhaps now you will be able to shoot straight?" Callie teased.

"As if I would tell you if I had used it! You are such a dirty perve Calliope" Arizona shook her head in amusement.

"Oh come on... I bought it surely that means I'm entitled to some juicy gossip on whether it worked out for you" Callie scoffed as a piece of popcorn hit her face before falling down her top and lodging firmly inside her bra.

"Awesome... and there are camera's everywhere so I will have to sit with your bite sized snack in my bra until I get home!" Callie mockingly glared at the blonde.

"Serves you right for being a dirty pervert" Arizona scoffed when Callie pouted at her retort.

"You're the one leaving snacks in my lingerie hoping that you'll get the offer to come fish it out for supper" Callie teased with an eyebrow wiggle.

"Oh really... that's what I'm doing is it?" Arizona scoffed, secretly berating herself for actually entertaining the idea that Callie had just put in her head, what the hell was wrong with her today!

"We both know what you're thinking right now" Callie raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Oh do we now? Are you sure about that Calliope?" Arizona challenged with a smirk

"Do it... I dare you to" Callie winked before pushing her chest out slightly to enhance the view down her shirt and grinned when Arizona's eyes followed the movement unsubtly.

"And if I was to submit to the urge and accept your dare, who's to say that you wouldn't get offended and slap me in public, with all these cameras around us" Arizona offered innocently as she toyed with her idea, knowing that she was having different thoughts to the brunette was expecting.

"Live a little blondie... sometimes you've gotta take a chance" Callie offered as her eyes darted to Arizona's lips hopefully, she felt the sting in her own lip and realized that she had bitten the fleshy inside subconsciously as she lost herself in the sight of Arizona running her tongue teasingly over her top lip to moisten it.

"You're absolutely right... but you need to close your eyes because I can't do it with you watching me so intently" Arizona murmured softly in a teasing sultry voice and grinned when Callie complied without argument. Without a second thought she grabbed the front of the brunettes top and dumped the practically full bucket of popcorn inside her top, laughing as Callie shrieked in surprise.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now Robbins?" Callie glared at the blonde in amusement.

"What... you told me to act on my urge, and I had the urge to make sure you had a big snack to go home alone with" Arizona smirked as Callie stood up and began jiggling her top and dancing around in an attempt to remove every nugget of popcorn that was now encased inside of her top and bra.

"Payback's gonna be a bitch Arizona!" Callie offered warningly to the blonde who was practically doubled over in laughter. She motioned for a server to give her another bucket and paid the fee before emptying it all over the blondes head, guffawing as Arizona shrieked and punched her playfully.

"It's in my hair Callie!" Arizona whined.

"I'll make you a deal, I will pick it out of your hair if you pick it out of my bra?" Callie suggested innocently.

"Hah... nice try. At least I can pick mine out of my hair in public, you're going to have to wait till you get home to free yourself of your midnight snack" Arizona grinned smugly as she swiped a kernel from her hair and tossed it into her mouth cockily.

"You're so right!" Callie glared, before smirking and grabbing a handful of popcorn from the floor and throwing it down Arizona's shirt.

"What the hell Calliope, that's off the floor! YUCK! I can't eat that now!" Arizona laughed despite herself.

"What, did you think I was going to go home and sit down with a beer, take my shirt off and watch some TV whilst eating popcorn from my bra?" Callie mocked with a laugh.

"The thought did cross my mind... that seems like the kinky kind of shit you would get up to in the privacy of your home" Arizona scoffed as she picked another piece of popcorn from her hair and threw it at Callie's face.

"Hey! you have no idea what kind of kinky shit I am into" Callie defended with a pout.

"Really... is that so Calliope, lets see just how well I know you shall we? What underwear are you wearing right now Calliope?" Arizona deadpanned.

"I'm... it's... wait... how the fuck did you know that? Seriously are you like a sniffer dog or something?" Callie eyed the blonde suspiciously, completely confused about how she knew and a little paranoid that it was a lot more obvious than she had thought.

"Hah... you wish I would have my nose in your lap!" Arizona snorted, thoroughly entertained by Callie's complete bewilderment.

"And your point is?" Callie shrugged with a smirk.

"My point is pervert that you should make more of an effort to hide the controller. You wouldn't want to get that thing in the wrong hands would you" Arizona smirked proudly as Callie instantly jumped to check that the controller was still in her clutch and the blonde hadn't stolen it. "Oh please, do you honestly think I would warn you first if I had taken it, I would have had my fun first especially with all these camera's around us" Arizona laughed at Callies blush as she spotted the control, re-zipped her clutch and placed it protectively on her lap with a hand laid securely over it.

"So you're happy with my choice of taking Hahn on?" Callie asked to try and change the topic.

"Subtle Callie... really subtle... look she wouldn't be my first choice, but as long as you are happy with your choice, that's what matters.. She just better not mess up any of my hard work!" Arizona offered diplomatically, but the way she spat out the final part caught Callie's attention.

"Arizona... are you a little jealous of the new girl?" Callie teased.

"What? No!" Arizona scoffed dramatically as she focused intently on the game, but Callie wasn't buying it.

"You are! You're jealous of Hahn... what's the matter blondie, are you scared that she's going to do a better job than you?" Callie teased as she prodded Arizona softly in the ribs several times eliciting a soft giggle.

"Oh please! I eat women like her for breakfast Callie, I am not in the slighted jealous or threatened by Erica Hahn!" Arizona breathed out as she swatted Callie's hands away from her to fend off the attack.

"Oh really Ms Robbins... care to elaborate on the topic of you eating women for breakfast?" Callie practically whispered so that their conversation wasn't heard by any of the thousands of people surrounding them who seemed to be eyeing them in amusement because of their antics.

"Jesus... you really are a sex obsessed pig Calliope!" Arizona scoffed.

"You act like you detest the fact, but we both know that you sit there complaining but you're still sat there because you LOVE how my mind works" Callie smirked proudly.

"Keep telling yourself that Calliope" Arizona shrugged noncommitedly.

"So is that a 'no' on the whole... discussing you eating women for breakfast?" Callie asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"it's a definite no, however seen as I am feeling generous, I will allow you the freedom to think about it at your leisure for the rest of the day… not that you need permission, you're probably already imagining it... Callie? CALLIE?" Arizona asked as the brunette closed her eyes and sat silently ignoring her with a smirk.

"Shhh! you said I could think about it, I'm thinking... quit trying to spoil my moment" Callie scoffed as Arizona's hand hit her shoulder playfully.

"I swear if I see you reaching for that control I will make you regret it" Arizona teased as she studied the brunettes face, taking in how relaxed and happy she looked in this moment.

"See this is why I keep you around, your full of genius ideas" Callie grinned as she playfully made to unzip her bag, only to shriek loudly as Arizona pounced on her and wrestled the bag free from her before she could even reach the controller if she had wanted it. As the clutch was knocked free from Callie's hand it flew to the floor with a thump and seconds later Callie jumped out of her skin, her eyes slamming shut and a blush flooded her cheeks and her lets clamped together and a shocked gasp escaped her lips.

"You ok Cal? What's wrong?" Arizona asked as the brunette squirmed beneath her lap, her breath hitching and her face bright red as she fought against some invisible foe.

"You must have turned the fucking thing on when you knocked my bag on the floor... oh sweet fucking Jesus, I'm begging you to find it and turn it off right now!" Callie squirmed as she whispered harshly between her teeth, unable to even enjoy watching Arizona dive ineloquently to the floor in search of the bag and crawling on all fours in search of the offending control.

"Arizona! Find it NOW!" Callie pleaded loudly as she bit down on her lip to fend off the moan that was building deep inside of her.

"I'm trying just ... don't explode at me Callie" Arizona giggled at her choice of words as she continued searching the dirty floor unsuccessfully.

"Funny... real fucking funny!" Callie grimaced as her hands tightened around the plastic seat in an attempt to ground herself and fend off the recognizable feeling building deep within her loins, regardless of how amazing it felt, she didn't need several thousand witnesses to her orgasm, especially not when one of those witnesses was the woman who held her unrequited love.

"God, keep your knickers on Calliope I'm coming!" Arizona scoffed loudly, completely proud of herself for her puns.

"I swear to god Arizona, now is not the time for jokes!" Callie bit her lips harder and squirmed in her seat, rubbing her thighs in an attempt to dislodge the vibrating bullet that sat snuggly against her now sensitive clit.

"I get it Callie, I'm not trying to fuck with you right now" Arizona laughed loudly from the floor.

"I swear if you don't find it within the next few minutes we are... oh shit... we are both going to be getting a criminal records, trust me I'm taking you down... oh god!... with me Robbins!" Callie was quickly beginning to lose the fight to fend off her pending release and the closer she got the more she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"No need to moan about it Callie! I heard you the first time" Arizona snickered as she found the bag and snatched it towards her before unzipping it and grabbing the control before eyeing the brunette mischievously.

"Are you sure you want me to hit the kill switch? you look like your enjoying yourself" Arizona mocked, moving the hand grasping the controller as Callie grabbed for it and smirking triumphantly at the other woman as she failed to retrieve it before she waved it tauntingly in the brunettes eyeline.

"Arizona, I am begging you, please! shut it down! Plea... oh, please! Please shut it DOWN" Callie pleaded in a moan that escaped her lips despite her best efforts, the movement from trying to grab the control having put more pressure against her sensitive core.

Sensing the brunette was in a world of embarrassment right now, she took pity on her and quickly turned it off before tossing the controller in the bag, zipping it up and handing it back to the brunette before climbing back into her seat and watching the game in silence as she allowed Callie a few moments to calm down and get a hold of herself in the little privacy she could get in a stadium full of thousands of people.

"Thank you" Callie whispered shyly.

"Just so we are perfectly clear... that is the first time I have ever not finished the job Callie" Arizona smirked without glancing at the brunette.

"Such a funny fucker! Don't for a second think I have forgotten or forgiven your hilarious little skit back there!" Callie muttered in return, unsure of whether to be mortally embarrassed or completely amused.

"Hey, with me it's the whole package, you don't just get the happy finish, you get entertainment built in while the business get's done" Arizona laughed as she eyed the brunette and offered her a sympathetic smile.

"The alarming thing is, I can't be certain but that felt like it's lowest setting... these things are the shit!" Callie smirked as Arizona turned and eyed her fully in surprise. "Seriously... you need to take it out of it's damn box, I bought it for a reason!" Callie laughed as the blonde blushed and turned her attention back to the game. All Callie could think about was keeping herself calm long enough to finish this stupid game and getting home to relieve the burning desire she knew there was no way to get rid of now. She was a ticking time bomb and knowing just how long she would be kept waiting, she knew she would require her bedroom and some loud music, just in case.


	19. Chapter 19

"Three – Love" The umpire called after Callie smashed the ball across the net just out of reach of Arizona. The brunette grinned as Arizona attempted to hide her annoyance and being scored against yet again but her mumbled expletives didn't pass Callie.

"Come on Robbins... are you planning on scoring anytime soon?" Callie flirted with a wink before catching her father's eye and silencing herself quickly, Carlos Torres in competition mode was not a man to mess with.

"I'm just letting you THINK you're winning Calliope" Arizona shrugged as she flicked the birdie at a laughing brunette before throwing an apologetic smile at her doubles partner, who just happened to be Callie's father.

"Sure... pick up your game Pocket –Rocket, Daddy doesn't like to be on the losing side" Callie scoffed as she got back into position in the forecourt and smiled over her shoulder at Erica who was preparing to serve. Sure she had wanted to be partnered with Arizona, but her stupid father had declared that teams be chosen at random this year by picking names from a hat, and really she couldn't complain because opposite her was Arizona Robbins, in a tiny little tennis skirt and a very snug, body hugging top and she was in the perfect position to admire her 'form'.

"Don't let her get inside your head Arizona... it's what she does, psychological warfare, she hasn't changed since she was a child and used to try and put me off by claiming there was a giraffe or a elephant or some other ridiculous animal behind me" Carlos whispered and winked cheekily at the blonde who couldn't help but laugh at the visual of a little Callie Torres playing dirty mind games to win.

"If she's not careful I will be aiming at her head again" Arizona muttered through gritted teeth as she eyed the latina smirking smugly in her direction. "Shoot, your ball" Arizona watched in amazement as Carlos span his in full alertness, spotted the ball and dived into it's line before smashing it back over the net and watching it sail past his daughters racket and scored them a point.

"Nice shot Daddy, not bad for an old timer! Look's like you need to share your moves with Arizona though" Callie scoffed as her father glared at her.

"Perhaps if you kept your eye on the ball and not on Arizona's chest you wouldn't have missed that shot Calliope!" Carlos tossed back, grinning internally as his daughter blushed furiously and her mouth gaped in shock that her father would even make such a comment.

"Yeah Calliope! Eye's up!" Arizona snorted as Carlos high fived her with his racket and threw her a playful wink. It was game on. Carlos Torres did NOT like to lose, not to anyone, and not in anything, it was time to wipe that smug smirk off his little girls face and remind her that she was second to him in tennis as well as business.

"Hey! I was not perving... the ball was out of my reach" Callie defended as she turned her attention to a frustrated and bemused looking Erica. "Sorry about that, I will do better next time" Callie offered with a grimace and noticed the fake blonde smile tightly and nod her acceptance not even attempting to converse before serving again. This time the ball made several rally's before Arizona gave it a solid backhand and smirked as the ball flew millimeters below Erica's racket and bounced inside the line before rushing out of bounds before Erica could even think of attempting to dive for it.

"That's my girl! Please tell me you were watching Arizona's form that time Calliope" Carlos cheered as he patted Arizona's shoulder in celebration.

"Trust me, I was paying attention to her form and was more like a lucky shot" Callie grinned as she watched her father and Arizona getting along like old buddies, it warmed her heart and gave her hope that one day, if she ever got her act together and actually asked Arizona out on a date, she wouldn't need to worry about her father's overprotective judging nature when it came to Callie and women.

"Pah... that was pure skill. If you actually knew anything about tennis you would be able to recognize it" Arizona shot back with a teasing wink.

"Ow Calliope... you just got burned!" Carlos scoffed as he high fived Arizona again with his racket and the blonde had to bite her lip to hold in the laughter at the mortification and shame on Callie's face.

"Ewww Daddy please! Don't say things like that, your far too old to be claiming burned! You aren't Ashton Kutcher, you're Carlos Torres please remember that" Callie grimaced.

"Are we playing?" Erica interrupted much to Callies shock as she set up her serve and awaited the other three players to get their heads in the game and stop fooling around like children.

"Oh umm... yeah sorry Erica" Callie offered Arizona a 'yikes' face, grinning idiotically when the blonde threw her a billion dollar smile of her own which made Callie's heart flutter as her eyes glazed over dreamily.

"Ouch! SHIT!" Arizona shrieked as the ball flew across the net and smashed directly into her face without making any attempt to even skim the ground. Arizona's legs gave out beneath her and Carlos made it just in time to stop her entire body collapsing on the floor. He guided her down gently, making sure to be extremely careful with her head and neck.

"Oh god sorry, my aim slipped" Erica offered and at least had the grace to act apologetic and shocked as she watched Callie dash forward and leap over the net in one solid graceful step as if he was an Olympic hurdles runner and the net was just a tiny obstacle for her to simple step over before she raced towards the blonde and her father and arrived by skidding on her knees to Arizona's side, luckily they were playing on a grass court or that last move would have hurt like... well a tennis ball to the head I would imagine.

"Hey your ok Arizona, it's just a little bang but I need you to keep still and don't stop looking at me, just keep those beautiful eyes open ok?" Callie asked softly as she grabbed the blondes face between her warm hands and looked into her dazed eyes searching for any sign of concussion before realizing the only sign of concussion she knew was sleepiness.

"Shit, you were right, that does hurt!" Arizona scoffed as she raised her hand to the rapidly growing bump. "Do I have a concussion... ask me something!"

"Ok.. Umm.. name all the Supreme Court Justices" Callie asked as she glanced to her father worryingly.

"Thomas, Ginsburg, Scalia, Stevens, Kennedy, Rehnquist, Souter, Breyer, O'Connor... Is that right?" Arizona glanced into the concerned brown eyes staring down at her and felt herself grow dizzy.

"How the hell would I know? You're the brains in this outfit, I'm just here to be the eye candy and be your sidekick!" Callie grinned as Arizona laughed heartily. Callie ran her hands over Arizona's neck to make sure she wasn't feeling any pain before she took her hands and helped her to her feet before guiding her off court, smiling as her father tailed them protectivly and watched the blonde with almost fatherly eyes.

"You ok? Do you feel like your gonna spew or anything... coz you know I hate spew, plus I'm wearing white and spew stains white... so if you're gonna spew I need you to give me a warning so I can dive out of the way ok?" Callie teased as she led Arizona into the shade of a tall oak tree and helped her sit down against it.

"You're an ass Calliope!" Arizona grinned as she slowly shook her head in amusement.

"Yep, you're fine! now stop being a big cry baby while I go and fetch some ice before that lump gets any bigger and starts forcing some IQ straight out of your head!" Callie smirked as she turned to get up but found Mark holding out a cool pack and watching on in concern beside Carlos.

"You ok blondie?" Mark asked gently.

"What have I told you about calling her that jack ass?" Callie snapped as she snatched the cool pack with a glare and placed it carefully to the edge of the blondes forehead right besides the bump.

"Want me to call a doctor?" Mark directed his question to Arizona and ignored Callie's outburst.

"I should be good, if I fall asleep or start throwing up we should probably get some medical attention, but for now I will just sit here and relax for a bit... Erica looks like she's ready to go, maybe you could take my place and finish the game Mark?" Arizona suggested with a warm smile.

"Sure thing blon... Arizona" Mark corrected himself before disappearing to the court with Carlos in tow.

"Why did you tell him off for calling me blondie... you do it all the time?" Arizona smirked at the blushing brunette.

"Because I don't call you it in a derogatory fashion... I say it because it's cute and it suits you... oh and so we are clear... now that we are alone, yes you got the justices right but stop trying to make me look smart in front of the hired help" Callie smiled playfully as Arizona rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Go and finish the game, and try not to let your partner injure your father or best friend as well please" Arizona giggled as Callie saluted her.

"I will make sure I win in your honor mi'lady" Callie joked with a wink before leaving Arizona to get some rest and recover from the blow to her head.

An hour later and Callie had finally finished the game much to her annoyance. All she could think about was checking in with Arizona and making sure that she was ok and not suffering too much but she couldn't get away. Approaching the tall oak where she had left the wounded warrior she was surprised to find her brothers curled up on either side of the blonde, the two of them enthralled with something Arizona was reading animatedly from her phone. She approached them quietly with her heart thudding in her chest at the sight of her three favorite people looking so cozy and comfortable together.

"Whatcha reading muggles?" Callie grinned as all three heads shot up at the sound of her voice and all three faces exploded into beautiful smiles before the two boys jumped up eagerly and charged towards her. Before they reached her she stretched her arms out and plucked the two boys from the ground and up into her arms as she hugged them close to her body and began spinning them around, her heart bursting in joy as they giggled and cheered as their legs fanned out around them as she kept spinning faster and faster until she began to feel dizzy herself.

"You're here Cal... we looked everywhere for you but couldn't find you anywhere" Gavin laughed as his big sister plonked him on his back on the ground and began tickling him.

"Well you didn't look hard enough because I'm right here!" Callie grinned as Simon pounced on her back and attempted to tickle her in defense of his big brother.

"Run Gavin, I'll save you from the dementor!" Simon laughed as he wrapped his arms around Callie's neck as she stood up and began half heartedly trying to shrug him off at the same time as holding her hands out to catch him should she be successful and make him fall.

"Did you just call me a dementor Si! Wow you dirty, disgusting little muggle! I'm going to chop you up and give you to Hagrid to feed to buckbeak!" Callie scoffed.

"Buckbeak doesn't eat little boys silly!" Simon yelled gleefully as he held on tightly to his sister for dear life, the racks of laughing causing his entire body to jiggle like a bowl of jelly.

"How do you know huh? Ever wonder why he didn't like Malfoy... maybe he thought he looked tasty and wanted to gobble him all up for breakfast but Malfoy was too big to chew!" Callie grinned as she grabbed a hold of Simons legs and dragged him to her front where she proceeded to smother him with kisses as he shrieked in horror and attempted to wriggle free from the attack.

"Gavin HELP!" Simon managed to yell between his laughter.

"I cant Si, I forgot my wand so I cant call a patronus to fight the dementor off!" Gavin giggled from Arizona's lap where he sat in hopes that the blonde woman would protect him from any further tickle attacks his big sister may try.

"You too? Since when did I become a dementor? I thought I was a Triwizard cup winner!" Callie pouted as she carried the wriggly worm in her arms that was still trying to break free from her hold. She sat down next to Arizona and eyed her eldest brother mockingly.

"Do you really think that she is going to save you? Do you see that big bump on her head? How do you think she got it? She called me a dementor too so I hit her with my nimbus!" Callie smirked as both boys instantly eyed the lump and bruise on Arizona's forehead with interest as their jaws dropped in shock that there was indeed a lump and bruise and so Callie MUST be telling the truth to them.

"Don't believe her boys... she's telling fibs!" Arizona grinned at the two boys, loving this whole new side to Callie she was seeing, she had never thought about what Callie would be like with kids, but she certainly hadn't expected her to be so... so... hands on, which was crazy because most days Callie acted like a kid herself.

"What happened to your head then?" Gavin asked cheekily as if he couldn't believe this woman would doubt Callie's word. Callie knew EVERYTHING, and then some! Whenever he or Si had a question, Callie was always the first to answer, and who knew the world could be such a funny place. Callie on the other hand couldn't wait for her brothers to grow up and realize that half the crap she told them was made up to make them laugh, hopefully before they went and repeated one of her comical answers at school and got into trouble, or worse got bullied for it.

"What happened? Well, I was minding my own business when a golden snitch flew out of nowhere and flew straight into my head!" Arizona smiled as both boys gasped and turned their attention back to their sister to see if they had Callie's confirmation that the new woman was in fact telling the truth, both boys giggled excitedly when they saw the brunette widen her eyes excitedly and nod.

"That's why you couldn't find me, I was off on my broomstick trying to catch it for her... but just when I put my hand around it, I fell to the ground and when I opened my hand to see the golden snitch I had finally caught, all I found was this..." Callie pouted playfully as she produced a tennis ball causing both boys to erupt into fits of laughter. She glanced at Arizona and offered her a wink, pleased that the blonde had decided to join in on their Harry Potter antics, Kara had never entertained the boys imaginative, playful and creative sides, instead ordering the three Torres children to grow up and pouring rain on all of their parades. No wonder the two boys had stopped coming over for visits and sleepovers after she and the redhead had gotten together, All that was about to change though, Callie was finally back in a place in her life where she felt she was capable enough of looking after the boys properly, without adult supervision and without doing something stupid like leaving them with a stranger to go hook up with a random pretty girl. Tomorrow for the first time in over a year, Gavin and Simon would be sleeping over, and she wasn't sure who was more excited about her it, her or the boys.

"Your silly Callie!" Gavin announced as he eyed the tennis ball curiously "It doesn't even look like a golden snitch... this is yellow and furry and has white lines and no wings... did you bump your head too?" Arizona erupted into laughter at Callies deadpan, the brunette was stumped at Gavin's honest appraisal of her mix up between a tennis ball and a golden snitch.

"I'm silly? Huh! That's funny coming from a silly little muggle who didn't bring his wand incase a dementor came... now who's silly Gavin" Callie scoffed before pretending to start a tickle attack, her fingers wrigging teasingly as they got closer and closer to his little body and she couldn't contain the laughter as Gavin cowered back into the blonde who wrapped her arms protectively around him. "Oh I see how it is, three against one huh" Callie mocked as all three nodded their agreement at her assessment and laughed softly when they looked to each other and saw they were all nodding.

"Oh fine, I will remember that tomorrow when you two want to sleep over and watch movies... maybe I will tell Daddy that we will have to cancel and I will find some other muggles to hang out with instead" Callie smirked at the two sets of brown eyes that widened in horror.

"Noooooo! Please Cal! Pleeease" Gavin cried.

"Oh ok then... I don't think Daddy would let me anyway, he told me that he wanted to take your Mommy out on a date and spend the WHOLE night kissing her" Callie teased affectionately, smirking when both of her brothers turned their nose up in disgust at the horrid thought of their parents kissing, she couldn't blame them, the thought turned her stomach too.

"Callie... Zona was reading us about Fodo and his magical journey to find a ring" Simon randomly announced.

"No silly.. FRODO was on a magical to PROTECT the ring!" Gavin corrected him. "and it's ARIzona"

"He can call me Zona... it's a hard name to pronounce hey buddy?" Arizona smiled sweetly at the little boy curled in his sisters arms pouting at being corrected by his brother but upon hearing the blondes words he grinned proudly as if he had been granted a pass to have a special nickname that only he could use. Callie only smiled as she watched the scene, she knew how the blonde loathed anyone shortening her name in anyway, Simon had no idea how special he was right now.

Simon climbed up his sister from her lap and whispered loudly in her ear. "Can Zona come watch Harry with us tomorrow?" And at that exact moment Callie's heart melted completely as her eyes met Arizona's and she saw a look of happiness in the blondes eyes. She raised her eyebrow in a silent question and felt her heart explode when Arizona nodded that she would come.

"I don't know Si, she might be busy but the only way you will find out is if you ask her nicely" Callie smiled before throwing a wink at the blonde as Simon cuddled into her neck to hide his embarrassment.

"Come on buddy, if you don't ask you will never know" Callie prodded him softly, for someone so full of mischief, the youngest Torres didn't inherit the charm his siblings had when it came to the ladies, and pretty ladies at that.

"Zona, wanna watch Harry with us tomorrow?" Simon practically whispered with his face hidden against Callies neck.

"Come on Si, even I didn't hear that and your right next to my ear" Callie teased lovingly as the little boy tightened his hold around her neck. She glanced at Arizona and offered her an apologetic smile.

"Can't you ask?" Simon whined.

"No... you have to learn how to pick up hot chicks some day... come on buddy you can do it, just put on your Torres smile and ask nicely and she might say yes... but it's really important that you flash her your bestest most cutest smile... will it help if I smile too?" Callie goaded hopefully, and smiled when she felt his little head nod against her.

Arizona watched on as the little boy pulled away slowly from his hiding place and glanced at his big sister who nodded reassuringly at him before turning to Arizona with that dazzling billion dollar smile and waited patiently for Simon to drum up enough courage to face her himself, and finally he did and flashed a nervous yet adorable semi toothless smile.

"Zona can you come and watch Harry with us tomorrow?" Simon stuttered.

"Hmmm... well I AM free tomorrow but first I have to know... will there be popcorn?" Arizona asked, her eyes darting to Callie playfully as she remembered their night at the baseball game and the photo Callie had sent of her popcorn filled bra, that she was still wearing. Callie blushed slightly and Arizona knew that the brunette was thinking the same thing.

"Cal will there be popcorn?" Simon whispered loudly out the side of his mouth without taking his eyes off the blonde.

"Yep" Callie whispered back just as dramatically and loudly and Arizona had to bite her lip hard to hold in her laughter at the two.

"Yep there's popcorn Zona!" Simon grinned, finally losing some of his shyness.

"Ok... hmmm... well what about soda... will there be soda?" Arizona grinned as Simon huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Callie... do we got soda?" Simon whispered again, this time darting his eyes to his sister hopefully.

"We got soda buddy, I even got Uncle Mark to go buy some butterbeer from Hogsmeade!" Callie smirked, and she had. She had found a shop that specializes in Harry Potter themed products and had gone all out to surprise her brothers for their special date night. Both boy's eyes widened in excitement.

"We gots butterbeer Zona, can you please come?" Simon pleaded.

"Well if you have popcorn AND butterbeer then I guess... oh wait... do you have candy?" Arizona scoffed as Simon rolled his eyes even more at her next demand before turning to his big sister in frustration.

"Callie?" He whispered dramatically with a frustrated sigh.

"Tell her to stop being a 'sugardigga' and give a guy a break instead of stringing him along for candy and soda" Callie whispered as she bit back a laugh and winked at her brother supportively.

"Zona help a guy out already and stop stringing me along oh and being sugardigga!" Simon whined adorably.

"Oh Simon, I'm sorry, your right and in that case, I would absolutely love to come and hang out... even if you didn't have the candy and the popcorn and the butterbeer" Arizona smiled. "But only if Callie say's it's ok" Arizona added and both boys looked pleadingly at their big sister with faces she would never even attempt to say no to.

"Sure... I'm sure there is room for one more muggle" Callie shrugged with a smirk.

"How do you know I'm not a witch?" Arizona asked as she winked mischievously at Gavin.

"Are you?" Gavin asked excitedly with wide eyes.

"I wish I could tell you but if you're a muggle then I cant.. it's a Ministry of Magic rule... they would take away my wand" Arizona grinned when both boys jaws dropped as her insinuation was picked up.

"Callie... Callie... she has a wand... and the Ministry of Magic will take it... she's a real witch!" Gavin shrieked in joy as he bounced excitedly in Arizona's lap, Simon mirroring the excitement in Callies lap. At that exact moment a black cat appeared, stalked towards the group of four before sitting and staring at Arizona and both boys silenced and stared in wonder.

"Zona... is that Mrs Magonall?" Simon asked in shock.

"McGonagall" Gavin corrected as he stared between the blonde and the black cat in disbelief at what he was seeing right in front of his eyes.

"Why don't you ask her for yourself" Arizona asked with a serious face as she eyed the strange cat staring at her intently. "Right Minerva?" Arizona added before winking at the cat, the boys gasped in glee before jumping up and chased the cat calling their versions of McGonagall much to both adults amusement.

"Oh you have no idea what you have just let yourself in for!" Callie scoffed as she watched the boys chasing the poor cat that was looking around for a place to flee the little humans chasing it.

"Please tell me that they don't really think that cat is Maggie Smith?" Arizona laughed as she turned her attention to the brunette.

"Of course not! they think it's Minerva McGonagall silly" Callie rolled her eyes dramatically.

"So another piece of the Callie Torres mystery is unveiled. Who knew she was such a potter freak... please tell me that you also attend comic cons dressed up as a witch, oh please tell me it's true!" Arizona grinned at Callies shy smile.

"Comic cons... really Arizona? Did you really try to steal my brothers to the world of Frodo Baggins... Arizona, they are three and six, that's a little advanced don't you think?" Callie scoffed. Secretly she had been waiting for the boys to be a little older so she could introduce them to the hobbit and the lord of the rings, she knew the boys would fall in love with that world too.

"Hey they were loving it, and I offered Harry Potter but they refused it, said that only Cal-Cal could read them Harry Potter, that it's your special thing that they don't share with anyone but you" Arizona parroted what they boys had told her with a soft smile.

"Nice try, they won't share Harry with anyone else. It's always been our thing since Gavin was born and I started reading it to him. I must have read the entire collection a dozen or so times since Gav was born. I leave the book's at their house but they refuse to let anyone else read it to them not even their Nanny, or my dad. They have never let anyone watch the movies with them... even when I ask if they want to invite some friends from 'school' to watch it with us either so you should feel incredibly honored right now!" Callie smiled proudly.

"I do, it's obvious that it's something they really enjoy with you and they cherish it. I'm sure I could make up an excuse for tomorrow if you wanted it to just be you and the boys" Arizona smiled apologetically for gatecrashing the sibling's night.

"God no... they asked for you to be there, plus you already told Si you would go and as you can see he is very shy about chatting up chicks" Callie smiled affectionately as her gaze returned to her brothers who had now abandoned the cat and instead were searching for stick's on the ground that would make the perfect wand.

"He doesn't seem to share your natural ability at speaking to women" Arizona pointed out with a playful smirk.

"Yeah he is really shy around girls... especially pretty women, I was surprised to find him snuggled up with you in the first place, normally he would be way too shy... let me tell you though, that kid... he has one hell of an eye on him when it comes to women, it's like he can sniff out pretty girls and they love him too, he's gotten me a few dates in the past in fact. Dad seems to just let him be and will speak for him when he gets nervous, but I don't want him going through life needing others to speak to girls for him he just needs to build his confidence up a little and be given the opportunity to speak up in the face of rejection and not only overcome it but experience it so he can learn that a little bit of rejection isn't the end of the world and he just has to shrug it off and get back on the horse. Daddy might be fine speaking for his kids so he can control their choices but I want more for him than that, you know? I don't want his childhood and growing up to be full of awkwarness and shyness and having other kids pick up on it and bully him for it, plus he should feel confident in himself to speak to anyone he pleases wthout feeling shy or embarrassed or nervous" Callie mused as she watched her brothers now playing a game which seemed to be a combination of Harry Potter and Star Wars with a smile.

"You know Torres, just when I think I have seen all of your many, many sides... you go and you throw another one in the mix. Has anyone ever told you that you are such a beautifully complex person?" Arizona smiled bashfully when Callie glanced at her from the corner of her eye in surprise.

"Actually no, most women just tell me I have a hot ass or a nice rack, it usually does the trick" Callie offered with a serious face which caused Arizona to break into laughter. "What I'm being serious? Arizona stop laughing at me... are you saying I'm beautifully complex but I DON'T have a hot ass or a nice rack? Is that what you're trying to tell me here?" Callie mocked offence.

"Beautifully complex, completely unique, creative and mysterious, hilarious and charming, alluring and infuriating in equal measures, smart, beautiful and funny in a completely inappropriate way, sweet and kind... those are things that I would use to describe you Calliope because I see a lot more than just your hot ass and a nice rack when I look at you" Arizona smiled softly as Callie looked at her with eyes tainted with shock, surprise and what Arizona could any guess was a little bit of emotion.

"but you are admitting that I DO have a hot ass and a nice rack too?" Callie asked eventually to cover up how much every cell in her body was urging her to just lean forward and kiss the woman who had just paid her more compliments to her in one statement than anyone else had in their entirety.

"God you really are a pig... yes Callie you have a hot ass and a nice rack, I'm glad that's all you took out of my little speech!" Arizona scoffed as she shoved Callie who was grinning like an idiot


	20. Chapter 20

A/N - This chapter is dedicated to Amme7 who has been working very hard on her studies and has requested that I stop posting so frequently... I assured her that I would pass along her comments and ensure I slow down with my posts... Make sure in your reviews you give her a shout out and send her some love HAHA! Prepare for the tigers to attack A!

So i just wrote chapter 30 and it is official... Callie is calling Arizona her girlfriend... so for all of the whingers out there... yes it IS a Calzona fic and the slow burn warning should have been taken more seriously ;) Everyone knows if you want a fire to keep roaring long and strong you need to get the the fire burning slowly first otherwise it may just fizzle out and Callie may end up running off to New York with Penny... wait they are already in New York... maybe she'll run off to Seattle with Penny!

Thanks for the love everyone! don't forget to shout out to Amme7 in your reviews... be gentle though ;)

AL xxx

-oOo-

"Zona you're here!" Simon screeched as the blonde woman he had spent all morning talking about appeared through Callie's apartment door as if her presence was the most natural thing in the world.

"Of course I am little man, I said I would be here for our Harry date, didn't I?" Arizona smiled at the little boy, dressed in wizard robes with a Slytherin AND a Gryffindor scarf wrapped tightly around his neck. Simon charged towards her and jumped into her arms and hugged her before catching what he was doing and suddenly becoming shy as he begun to play with the neckline of her Gryffindor t-shirt bashfully.

"Arizona you came!" Gavin grinned as he appeared from the bathroom only to rush excitedly towards the blonde and wrapped his little arms around her legs affectionately as if she had been a part of his life for years. Gavin for his own part was wearing his very own wizard robes and sported a Gryffindor scarf.

"Hey Gav, you two look amazing, where did you get your robes from?" Arizona couldn't help but swoon a little at how completely adorable they both looked until something caught her eye and she looked up to spot Callie, in her very own wizarding robe. Arizona bit her lip hard against the urge to guffaw and she reached into her back pocket, grabbed her phone to take a snap to remember this moment forever.

"Yes Arizona?" Callie mocked as she saw the blonde phone pointing at her.

"You look... lovely Calliope!" Arizona snickered.

"What, that's it? Nothing else?" Callie teased.

"Cal how come's Zona calls you Calliopwe only Daddy is allowed to call you that?" Simon asked inquisitively from Arizona's hip, his fingers still playing with the material against Arizona's neckline.

"Because Arizona takes a lot of my Sugar Honey Iced Tea so has earned the right to" Callie smiled as she ruffled her baby brothers hair affectionately, smiling as the little boy got snuggled into the blonde.

"Oh. Okay... can we give Zona her robes yet?" Simon smiled as he wriggled of the blondes arms to go and grab them for her as his sister nodded.

"Wait... my robes?" Arizona's smirk faltered.

"This is a Potter zone Ms Robbins, if you don't wear the robes you can't stay, it's mandatory! Right Gav?" Callie teased.

"It is! It is! Look there's even a message from Dumbledore... right here look!" Gavin announced as he pointed to a weathered scroll that was attached to the back of Callie's front door. Arizona couldn't help but glance at the brunette in wonder at the effort she had gone to for the two little boys, Callie simply shrugged her shoulders bashfully.

"So there is Gavin... wait does this say that we have to stay out of the forbidden forest too?" Arizona scoffed as she glanced back at Callie with a eyebrow raised suggestively, grinning when Callie laughed loudly at her silent implication and teasing.

"Here Zona.. you have to choose what house you want to be in too by picking a scarf... I couldn't choose so I'm in Slytherin AND Gryffindor" Simon grinned as he raced into the room and practically threw the robes at Arizona in his excitement.

"Wait... why isn't Callie wearing a house scarf?" Arizona asked as she ran her eyes over Callie appreciatively by accident and noticed there was a scarf missing.

"She said she wanted to wait for her GIRLFRIEND to pick so she could be in the same house" Gavin snickered impishly, smirking as Callie glared at him pointedly with a blush.

"Oi muggle, I have already told you she is NOT my girlfriend!" Callie whispered loudly as she grabbed for Gavin who dashed behind Arizona's legs for protection, he knew that look in his sister face and he was in deep trouble when she got her hands on him and would be on the receiving end of a tickle attack, or worse... a wet willie!

"Callieeeee wuvs Zona!" Simon joined in with a sing song voice before running to stand beside his brother in solidarity.

"Oh she does, does she?" Arizona smirked pointedly as she eyed Callie teasingly, Callie, bless her, was blushing furiously at what her two brothers had just done, this was possibly the most embarrassing moment of her life.

"So Gav was asked to be a boyfriend by a girl at 'school' and now these two idiots are obsessed about boyfriends and girlfriends and decided to ask me this morning where my boyfriend was, so of course I had to explain to them that I don't have boyfriends because I like girls so I have girlfriends instead, and now they seem to be obsessed with the fact that you are my girlfriend even though I keep telling them that your not" Callie explained nervously before glaring at her brothers who were giggling behind Arizona's legs.

"Oh wow, does that mean you have a girlfriend Gav?" Arizona asked teasingly, taking pity on Callie and trying to take the attention off her.

"WHAT... NO! Girls are yucky!" Gavin complained much to the adults amusement.

"Zona do you have a boyfwend?" Simon asked sweetly.

"No sweetie, I don't have boyfriends, I have girlfriends like Callie does" Arizona smiled down at the boy.

"Maybe we should get you in those robes so we can grab some butterbeers and start these movies off" Callie suggested before the boy could embarrass her any further. Right now she was actually beginning to regret inviting Arizona over and she had only been here around ten minutes.

"Sounds good... had I know I would have brought my own robes but you didn't warn me Callie, that's poor hostess points" Arizona pouted playfully as she stepped further into the apartment.

"See I told you Simon!" Gavin whispered loudly as he watched the blonde with interest to see if she did any magic when she thought they weren't looking.

"Stop it before they actually believe you and trust me they will never give it up if they truly believe it. There is this old man who always stays at the T when he's in town, this guy is like the spitting image of Ian McKellon in Lord of the Rings, he has this incredible beard, like full on Gandolf beard... the first time Simon saw him he was only just starting to speak and he just points at him and screams "DUMBLEDORE" in this perfect voice like he had been speaking for years… so this old guy looks at him in surprise, before holding his finger to his lips and winking at the two boys... and now, every single time they see him now, it's like they honestly believe he is Dumbledore. You have to watch them like hawks because they sneak off to follow him to try and catch him doing magic... Gavin once ran up to him and stole his newspaper while the poor guy was stirring sugar in his coffee... When I caught up to the little monster he admitted that he wanted to see if the pictures were moving in Dumbledoors newspaper" Callie laughed as she watched Arizona laughing as she threw on her robes before releasing her hair from it's messy bun and shaking her golden hair out before offering Callie a dimpled smile.

"What... you're staring?" Arizona asked pointedly as she caught Callie studying her intently.

"What? No I wasn't?" Callie deflected.

"You were staring at me like... like Harry's cousin staring at chocolate!" Arizona glared at the brunette when she burst out laughing.

"Right up until this point you had me fooled that you were a Potter fan, now I'm just embarrassed that we brought a traitor into the house! Harry's cousin? That would be Dudley!" Callie shook her head in amusement.

"Whatever!.. It doesn't change the fact that you were staring!" Arizona eyed the brunette questioningly, had Callie not made fun of her in the attempt to change the conversation, she may have allowed her to change the topic, but now she was going to make her suffer.

"Alright, fine... you want to know why I was staring? You look really hot in wizard robes alright? Are you happy now?!" Callie whisper yelled with a blush as she glanced to make sure her brothers weren't within hearing distance before glancing back at the blonde who was smirking triumphantly.

"Oh... my... god... are you actually telling me right now that you have a whole Harry Potter fan girl thing going on?" Arizona grinned as Callies blush deepened.

"What! No of course not... how did you even there from me complimenting that you looked hot?" Callie defected again as she grabbed Arizona's coat and hung it on the coat peg along with her bag.

"Ok wait... so Emma Watson, S.H.A.G, marry or avoid?" Arizona smirked as she glanced around to make sure the boys were entertained and not paying too much attention to their conversation. She couldn't help but smile softly as the boys were playing with replica wands and trying so hard to make their spells come true.

"That Ms Robbins, that I a very good question that requires a serious answer... obviously if we are discussing pre or during Harry Potter then obviously avoid, I mean she is a kid, obviously an attractive young lady, but still... a kid. If we are discussing post Harry Potter then it would absolutely be S.H.A.G... I mean lets be honest, adult Hermione is hot, it's just a shame they haven't expanded the franchise to include adult Hermione, that is a movie I'd like to see!" Callie exclaimed as if she had put some real thought into this.

"Ok so if she is that hot then why wouldn't you marry her too?" Arizona raised her eyebrow questioningly as she followed the brunette into the kitchen and grinned as she was handed an adult butterbeer... a corona with lime in a bottle that had a beer sleeve to disguise it.

"Oh come on... she's hot but she is too political, I don't want to come home after a long day at the office and listen to a political rant about the ethics of pig rearing in the third world or some other such bulllshi... S.H.I.T... I want to come home to lots and lots of hot S.E.X and you know maybe dinner on the table every other day, maybe a bath run for me to jump into before all the hot S.E.X starts... or hey im not fussy, perhaps start all the S.E.X during the bath" Callie grinned as she spotted Arizona glaring at her. "What?" Callie laughed.

"You are a pig Calliope! Please tell me that your ideals on marriage are just you winding me up and you don't really think that whole little speech is what a healthy marriage is?... god I'm pretty sure your little speech just now has just set women's right back a decade!" Arizona scoffed.

"Have you ever been married? No? Well that means that right now I am the expert here so you need to pay attention to my wise advice" Callie laughed as she leaped over the back of the couch and landed expertly in a laid down position with her own beer upright.

"So what you are claiming is that you are the expert in marriage right now... really... you're saying this to the woman who successfully divorced you?" Arizona teased as she shook her head in amusement.

"Ouch... can we tone down the B.I.T.C.H?" Callie scoffed as she grabbed the controller and began setting up the TV for their Potter marathon.

"I don't know Calliope, can we turn down the whole 1930's mysogynistic husband?" Arizona deadpanned.

"What? Is it really too much to ask to want to come home after a hard day at work to a nice home cooked meal and some oral from a hot woman?" Callie smirked at the shock on Arizona's face.

"First... the boys!... second... if you are being serious right now I am disgusted to even know you" Arizona glared.

"Oh come on, are you telling me that after a long hard day when I have been driving you insane, you aren't wishing you could just head home and have a nice hot meal waiting for you and a hot women willing to do absolutely anything you want to make you scream" Callie whispered before she paused the intro to the Philosopher's Stone to finish their conversation before calling the boys over.

"What no, I long to go home, throw on something that doesn't feel like it's ripping my ass crack apart, or is trying to crush my thighs together, or trying to push my breasts so high off my chest that they feel like they are going to fall off. Then I long to grab a nice glass of chilled white wine, put on a movie and just be... no T.I., no Callie Torres harassing me to run stupid errands, no commission boards calling to harass me, just me in some baggy clothes with some white wine and some trashy TV.., that sounds like the dream" Arizona smiled dreamily.

"Ok, before I call the boys over we are going to make a deal. Next week we are going to do an experiment. Monday we will go back to your place after work and do it your way... and Tuesday we will come back here and do it my way... and then we will decide who has the best post work dream, deal?" Callie smirked playfully.

"Nice try Calliope! Shall we call the boys over?" Arizona scoffed.

"You can't blame me for trying... plus it's a win win... I didn't say that I would be the only one getting off, I'm all about the giving... remember you tauht me the importance of donating" Callie winked suggestively. "MUGGLES ARE YOU COMING TO WATCH?" Callie yelled breaking the spell between the two women as the boys shrieked in glee and jumped on top of them.

"Finally, what took so long? Were you two kissing?" Gavin asked.

"Ewww were you smooching?" Simon teased as he scrunched up his nose in disgust.

"If we were, I wouldn't be telling you!" Callie mocked, laughing when her brothers grimaced in horror.

"She's joking boys don't worry, there was no kissing or smooching" Arizona promised as Simon snuggled up into her lap and settled down as if it was the most natural thing to him.

"Yeah I wouldn't kiss her anyway... she's waaaaaay too high maintenance" Callie whispered dramatically to Gavin who couldn't help but giggle despite not really understanding Callie's joke.

"What's that mean Cal?" Simon asked before his thumb made it's way into his mouth and he settled down sucking his thumb.

"It means that instead of just being happy with a kiss, Arizona wants flowers and to be taken out on fancy dates all the time, and instead of just having fun and playing games, she wants to talk... about boring things... really boring things! And after doing really amazing fun things, she wants to cuddle instead of doing other really amazing and fun things... because she is boring and high maintenance" Callie laughed as Simon scrunched his nose up in disgust.

"Hey I resent that Calliope... just because I am interested in a mature adult relationship that is based on a combination of factors like having things in common, like a connection, like making each other laugh and smile, like enjoying each others company and having both participants actually seeing a future to the relationship, an agreed goal that they work to together!" Arizona pouted.

"Your right Cal... she's high maintenance" Gavin nodded seriously before giggling when Callie high fived him proudly.

"Great... teach them your misogynistic ways and not how to actually treat a woman!" Arizona scoffed at the interaction.

"Stop being boring and watch the movie PLEASE?" Simon begged.

-oOo-

Callie glanced over to the opposite side of the couch eight hours later, yes, eight hours. When the Torres children did a Potter marathon they did it properly, Harry Potter was a serious thing for the Torres'. Pizza had been delivered a few hours ago and all four had ploughed through several slices each without losing a single second of attention of the movie.

What had recently stolen Callie's attention however was Gavin, who had now switched places with Simon and was Arizona's little spoon. Her eldest baby brother was sound asleep in Arizona's arms, his head resting on a cushion that was laid close to Arizona's chest and the blondes bottom arm was bent in a way that looked extremely comfortable as she ran her fingers through Gavins short dark hair. What really captured Callie's heart though was her brothers dimples that were softly popping out as the little boy was obviously lost in a happy dream and enjoying the safety the blondes arms provided. Arizona herself was contently watching the movie, a small smile playing on her face and her own dimples popping just so, if you didn't know to look for them you probably wouldn't know they even existed right now, but Callie knew they were there and she knew where to look for them, and she adored them.

As she lay looking at the blonde that she was falling deeper in love with laid with a little boy that could easily be mistaken as a biological child that was a perfect combination of the both of them, he looked like a young, male Callie, yet had these dimples and his skin was a little paler than Callie's, not obvious to most people but to those who were close to the family and paid attention, Both Simon and Gavin were a little paler than the Torres girls.

Callie almost jumped out of her skin when her eyes travelled from the brunette boy back to the blonde woman to find a pair of striking cerulean eyes studying her. Callie swallowed deeply as she tried to push down her embarrassment at being caught studying the scene before managing to mutter out a nervous "what?"

"You're staring again and you have this expression on your face that I... can't read, is everything ok?" Arizona asked nervously.

"Yeah, course... I was just thinking that maybe it's time I got these two to bed. Are you going to hang around for a bit though? Just because the play date is over doesn't mean you have to go" Callie couldn't disguise the vulnerability in her voice and Arizona picked up on it instantly.

"Sure... but we can keep watching Harry right, I'm kinda into it now" Arizona grinned.

"Ok how about we make a deal, you spend the night... in the spare room... and tomorrow you can stay for Potter date part two. I promised the boys we would watch the whole thing before I took them home... they really liked having you here" Callie smiled hopefully.

"Is this your ploy to get to see my sleepwear again?" Arizona teased as Calie eased up from the couch expertly with Simon still cradled in her arms, so naturally as if it was something she had done all of her life, as if cradling this tiny body was something she was born to do, before making her way towards her master bedroom instead of the room the boys usually slept in. Arizona climbed out from behind Gavin before carefully picking him up and following Callie.

Once both boys had their scarves and wizard robes removed and were tucked under the sheets and looked comfortable, Callie ducked into her wardrobe and grabbed two sets of tracksuit pants and oversized tees for them both to change into, only to find Arizona still stood watching the boys sleeping.

"It's kind of therapeutic hey? They have all this energy and excitement and are inquisitive about every little detail and it's exhausting keeping up with them, but then they fall asleep and you just sit back and watch them so peaceful and content and there is this little part of you that just.. Misses them and makes you want to wake them up so that the fun can start again" Callie smiled softly as Simon grunted in his sleep. "but then they move in their sleep and this irrational fear shoots through you because you just know that you don't have a single ounce of energy left to keep up with them and if they wake up you will be outnumbered in enemy territory with no way to call for support" Callie whispered dramatically causing Arizona to laugh.

"Well you aren't outnumbered tonight, I've got your six Torres" Arizona winked playfully.

"You wish you had my six Robbins... here, this is so I don't need to imagine your sleepwear" Callie teased as she passed Arizona a set of clothes before leading her out of the bedroom and pulling the door closed, leaving just a crack in case the boys woke up or needed her.

"I see what you did there! Shall I go in the spare room to change or are you expecting a striptease again" Arizona smirked.

"You're such a funny fucker! You know where the spare room is but if you want to give me a strip tease I can always go back and shut the door" Callie pointed back down the hall towards her bedroom door.

"Keep dreaming Torres, I will meet you by the fish bowl" Arizona mocked over her shoulder.

"Did you just quote Finding Nemo?" Callie mocked.

"Did you just know that I quoted Finding Nemo?" Arizona grinned triumphantly.

"I hate you!" Callie called after her.

"Because I'm awesome, and I'm right and despite you claiming to hate me, you love me really" Arizona teased before closing the bedroom door for some privacy.

"If only you knew how right you are about that" Callie sighed before moving to the bathroom to change herself.


	21. Chapter 21

"Snakeus!" Simon squealed as he flicked his wand in his brothers direction. "Hah I turned you into a snake" he giggled gleefully as Gav dropped to the floor and began hissing.

"Hey muggles keep it down a bit, Arizona's still asleep" Callie warned affectionately as the two boys charged around her apartment yelling spells at each other as they flicked their wands before announcing what they had done and the other had to comply.

"Why is Zona still asleep?" Simon asked as he slid to a stop near the kitchen bar and watched his big sister making chocolate chip pancakes, his favorite!

"Because it takes a lot of sleep to be able to look that beautiful so we need to be quiet and let her sleep" Callie answered half heartedly as she focused on her task. Cooking wasn't something she got to do very often, but the few times she managed to steal away her brothers for the night, she took great delight in making them their favorite breakfast in the morning.

"Is Arizona like sleeping beauty?" Gavin asked, the topic of his new favorite blonde catching his attention.

"I dunno Gav, why don't you two muggles go sneak in her room and give her a big kiss and see if she wakes up, breakfast will be served by the time you get back" Callie ordered with a smile as the two boys cheered and charged in the direction of Callie's spare room. She hoped the blonde wouldn't mind being woken up by two energetic kids so early.

Ten minutes had passed and the boys still hadn't returned and breakfast would quickly start going cold, so Callie made her way towards the sound of giggles and smiled widely as she peeked her head through the door to find the two boys pinned to the bed with the blonde tickle attacking them at the same time. Unable to spoil the moment she ducked away and returned to the kitchen to grab a serving tray and the four plates of pancakes, a jug of syrup and two waters and two coffees before making her way back to the spare room to join the party.

"I thought I had better bring breakfast to you seen as you all disappeared on me" Callie smiled widely as she announced her presence to three guilty looking faces.

"Callie, Callie! we kissed her and she woke up, you were right she is sleeping beauty!" Gavin announced as Simon nodded his head energetically in agreement.

"Sleeping beauty?" Arizona asked in confusion but Callie's guilty shuffling told her that she wanted to hear this explanation.

"Callie said that your soooo beautiful because your sleeping beauty and you get so much sleep!" Gavin supplied helpfully much to Callies horror.

"Ok well this just got really awkward really quickly. I'm going to have to start recording conversations with you two little firecrackers! Quit making things sound different to how they are" Callie placed the tray down and rolled her eyes as the boys leaped forward to grab their hot cakes greedily.

"Umm... sleeping beauty? You do realize that I am STILL trying to catch up on the sleep I lost when you went bosszilla on me" Arizona smirked at Callies discomfort.

"Ok, I will accept the bosszilla comment, I was a nightmare! And for the record... the boys asked me why you were asleep when I asked them to shut up so they didn't wake you up, and I said something about how it takes a lot of sleep to look beautiful, and then they asked if you were sleeping beauty because you were so beautiful and I told them to come and kiss you and see if it woke you up so they would know if you were sleeping beauty... that's all, not what they made it out to sound like" Callie offered as she tore apart her pancake and nibbled on it nervously.

"Callie YOU said she was soooooo beautiful not Gav!" Simon corrected much to Callies dismay and Arizona couldn't help but laugh at the mortified look on the brunettes face.

"Simon, don't eat with your mouth full!" Callie reprimanded, it being the first and only thing she could think to do before her brother dropped her in it anymore.

"So you think im soooo beautiful Callie?" Arizona teased affectionately as she studied the brunette.

"You are very beautiful Arizona, that is not a fact I would every deny" Callie smiled bashfully.

"Yuck... Gav, I think they are gonna kiss" Simon whispered dramatically, smiling impishly when the two adults snapped their attention towards him, both amused but Callie's eyes also held a silent plea for the baby boy to just shut up already.

"Si, you really need to learn how to whisper buddy" Callie smirked with a blush "and no we weren't going to kiss thank you! Remember I told you that the only girls It's ok to kiss are girlfriends and Arizona isn't my girlfriend" Callie reminded.

"Oh yeah..." Simon nodded as he remembered his sister telling him that.

"But why isn't Arizona your girlfriend?" Gavin asked innocently as he glanced between the two women who looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Uh... because Arizona is a friend buddy... sometimes you like girls in a way where you want to kiss them and sometimes you just like hanging out with them and playing with them. Both ways are good, and sometimes you're not sure which way you like a girl, and that's ok too. But me and Arizona are just friends, we like playing with each other not kissing" Callie tried to explain as she ignored Arizona's failed attempt to not laugh at her wording.

"Wait... is Zona a bad kisser?" Simon wriggled his eyes cheekily as Arizona bubbled into deeper laughter and Callie couldn't help but throw her a glare.

"I wouldn't know buddy, I haven't kissed Arizona because she's my friend not my girlfriend, remember" Callie tried to placate the boys and their thousand questions.

"Wait... so if you haven't kissed Arizona, how do you know you don't like kissing her? Because if you like kissing her she could be your girlfriend and then she could be our sister!" Gavin pointed out, Simon cheering at the idea and eagerly nodding his acceptance and support in this decision meanwhile Callie glared as Arizona laughed again.

"You know you aren't helping right?" Callie shot.

"Hey, you're on your own... if I remember correctly you told me I tried to kiss you and you didn't want to kiss me so now you will never know if I'm a bad kisser or not" Arizona winked before turning her attention back to the two boys who had their mouths open in shock.

"Calliiieeeeeee!" Simon whined.

"Why didn't you want to kiss Arizona! She would be an awesome girlfriend!" Gavin elaborated with a pout.

"Because Arizona isn't my girlfriend and you only kiss girls that are your girlfriend remember" Callie huffed as she glared AGAIN at a giggling blonde.

"Zona should be your gwirlfriend" Simon pointed out as he crossed him arms adamantly, clearly not amused at this turn of events.

"Ok muggles, you have tortured and embarrassed me enough for one day. How about you both go get washed up and we will finish Harry Potter, ok?" Callie ordered a little more forcefully than she meant, shaking her head in frustration as the boys complied and dashed out of the room leaving the two women in a slightly awkward silence.

"I would apologize for that whole awkward breakfast but you didn't exactly help me out or help in any way at all" Callie scoffed eventually.

"Oh come on... I still have some payback in my piggy bank, don't be such a sour puss Calliope" Arizona smirked.

"I hate you! Get dressed!" Callie pouted, knowing she couldn't come back from that, so instead admitted defeat and left.

"You love me!" Arizona sing songed to the brunettes retreating back.

-oOo-

"Boys come on... you know Daddy doesn't let you just walk around New York, you're both so little and it's not safe!" Callie pleaded almost desperately, she had been having this argument with the boys for the last twenty minutes and they just weren't letting up and she was at a loss of how to end it without losing her temper and upsetting the boys.

"Daddy isnt here though!" Simon whined loudly.

"And Daddy say's when we stay with you, you're in charge and we have to do everything you say" Gavin deadpanned.

"Yeah! so you can just say we have to go" Simon added proudly.

"Yeah! Daddy can't argue with that!" Gavin concluded as if it was a done deal.

"Is everything ok?" Arizona smiled at the three Torres' as she entered the lounge after hearing the commotion from the spare bedroom.

"Yeah it's fine" Callie smiled in return.

"No it's not fine Cal is a being mean doodie head! we want to go see Daddy's buildings and Cal wont let us!" Gavin whined with big brown eyes as Simon stood nodding his agreement with Gavin's claim enthusiastically.

"Gavin enough!" Callie warned, her patience was wearing thin and the boys just wouldn't stop and as much as she LOVED her baby brothers, she just wasn't made for petulant arguments with people who wouldn't just take her answer and do as they were told.

"Why can't they see the buildings?" Arizona asked in confusion.

"Because Cal is mean doodie head!" Simon answered for his sister as he echoed Gavin's earlier sentiment.

"Si, enough... both of you will be sitting and looking at the wall until it's time to go home if you don't stop with the doodie head and arguing with me!" Callie warned and tried to bite down her smirk as both boys crossed their arms and pouted in anger as they glared pointedly at her. She turned her attention back to the blonde who she could tell was also struggling to hide her amusement at the boys, so she gave them both a distraction and answered her earlier question, without Simon's help this time.

"Daddy doesn't like for them to be out in the open in New York, he reckons it's not safe for them being Torres children without protection... and he's right, anything could happen! They could get taken by someone, or get lost, or hit by a cab, fall down a subway entrance, fall down a storm drain..."

"Ok Cal... alright, I get the point! So going for a walk around NYC isn't an option, but what if we went for a drive around NYC and they could see it from the car window, that would be safe right?" Arizona asked, hoping to find a resolution to make all three Torres' happy, she was really looking forward to spending another full day with the three brunettes especially after the success that was yesterday, and sure she had expected to be sat in watching movies again, but the idea of getting out and about with the two young boys excited her.

"Sure... until we hit traffic, have you ever been trapped in a tin can with a three and six year old who are full of energy with no way to burn it off? Oh and there is no escape because you're in gridlock weekend traffic that's crammed so tightly you're just stuck... oh god it sounds like a write up for a horror movie!" Callie scoffed in absolute horror at the prospect of the idea.

"Ok.. You're right. But maybe we could at least take them to a park or something?" Arizona asked hopefully, the boys clearly wanted to get out of the apartment and the way the boys both nodded eagerly at her suggestion only cemented the fact.

"Wait... you're right with the driving around... but we need something better than a car" Callie smirked mischieviously as she grabbed for her phone and dialed a number, ignoring the inquisitive stares from her three companions.

"Hey, I need picking up from T Hotel... how long till you arrive?... two adults and two Torres children... awesome, I will see you in fifteen" Callie hung up the phone and smiled triumphantly.

"Right muggles, you win! Say thank you to Arizona for being a genius and go get ready we have to leave in ten minutes" Callie announced and laughed when the two frowns disappeared and turned into huge smiles as they cheered and ran away to finish getting dressed.

"Ok... what did you come up with because you are looking pretty smug right now" Arizona asked.

"You will find out very soon... I hope you aren't afraid of heights!" Callie grinned as she left the blonde to go check on the boys and grab her own shoes.

-oOo-

"Muggles come on! Our chariot is a waiting!" Callie yelled from the front door much to the blondes amusement as she stood taking in the brunette and couldn't help but wonder if Callie ever decided to settle down and have kids, if this is what she would look like daily.

Her stone washed skinny jeans had several strategically placed rips that tastefully exposed the soft caramel skin beneath. On top she wore an oversized plain black tee which was underneath a deep grey blazer, its sleeves rolled up to just below the elbow, the cream with silver and charcoal pinstriped satin lining exposed. Callie looked more casual than Arizona had seen to date, but still elegant, classy and beautiful. But what really caught Arizona's attention was the fact that Callie was completely make up and jewelry free and her normally styled to perfection hair was tossed up in a messy bun on top of her head, out of her way and forgotten about.

"What?" Callie frowned at the blonde when she noticed how she was studying her.

"Nothing... I just like this look on you... the whole, laid back and low maintenance thing really suits you" Arizona offered, glad when the boys appeared to distract the brunette from their conversation.

"About time you two! Come on our lift is already here" Callie scoffed as they boys ran straight past her and to the elevators where they fought over hitting the down button, she closed the front door and locked it before joining the boys and hitting the up button instead, ignoring the questioning glances being aimed at her. She stayed silent as she waited, ushering the three into the elevator when it arrived.

"Where we going Gav?" Simon whispered dramatically to his brother who just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders in confusion. He didn't have to wait long as the doors slid open to expose a service hallway with double metal doors at the end. Callie led the way and opened the door, her smile erupting as the Torres helicopter came into view and the boys shrieked in glee. They had seen the helicopter before, they had even sat in it once as it was parked in their back garden, but they had yet been allowed to ride in it.

"You own a helicopter?" Arizona asked in disbelief as she watched the boys being stopped by the pilot who was saying something that caused them both to nod in excitement.

"T.I. has a helicopter, I just have it to use at my disposal... this way the boys get their first ride and get to see their empire and Daddy won't murder me for putting them in danger" Callie shrugged as if it was an everyday occurrence. "Come on, we've gotta put our chutes on and get strapped in" Callie scoffed.

"Wait what... chutes?" Arizona paled.

"Do you honestly think I would put my baby brothers in the air without a backup plan? Come on! they are going to tether Si to you and the pilot will run through everything and show you what to do in an emergency. If the worst happens, you just grab Si and follow the procedure, and I will grab Gav... don't look so scared Arizona, It's just in case and it's more so when Daddy finds out I at least have a chance of him not murdering me" Callie winked.

Half an hour later they were in the air, they had been shown how to disengage their tethers from the helicopter, how to open the door mid flight, how to jump out safely, how to hold the boys to keep them safe through decent, despite them being tethered for safety. How to deploy the chute and land. If anything bad happened, they were are prepared as they were going to be. The two women sat on opposite sides of the helicopter, Callie with her arm around Gavin's shoulder as he excitedly pointed at various things out the window as he chattered through the two way comms system they were each wearing. Simon however was feeling a little nervous and had requested for Arizona to carry him, and so she sat next to the window listening to Callie and Gavin talking through her headphones as she watched New York beneath her and cradled the tiny body in her arms protectively, one arm wrapped around his waist and rubbing up and down his arm and the other cradling his head with her fingers massaging his scalp in the same way she had with Gavin the night before.

"What's that?" Simon asked as he pointed towards the Chrysler Building out the window, it was the first time he spoke and his voice gained the attention of all the passengers.

"That's the Chrysler Building Si" Arizona smiled.

"You know Si, there is really good story about the Chrysler Building... " Callie grinned over at her youngest brother affectionately as he looked at her curiously.

"See in the nineteen-thirties when the Chrysler Building was built, a man named William Van Alen who was obsessed with beating his former partner H. Craig Severance who was building the Bank of Manhattan Tower which was designed to be nine hundred and twenty seven feet tall, so Van Alen announced the Chrysler Building would be only nine hundred and twenty five feet but he secretly made a mast that was a hundred and eighty feet tall inside the tower which he only revealed AFTER Severance had completed his building and for three whole months Van Alen had the tallest building in all of New York... right until the Empire State Building was built" Callie smiled between the two boys who were hanging off her every word after pointing out each building to them through the windows as she spoke.

"I'm impressed... you kept your architectural history knowledge hidden" Arizona smiled.

"Yeah well... we all need to keep aces up our sleeve! It's pretty amazing what dreams and lots and lots of money can do, isn't it?" Callie asked as she turned her attention back to the famous skyline. It had been many years since she had taken the time to just enjoy this view, normally when she was sat up here she was running through cliff notes before a meeting or using the time to work on a project.

"It really is... you know that you're a part of that now Cal, you're making history and one day some other spoilt rich brat will be up here in their hover car and will be looking at the skyline and telling stories all about Torres Industries" Arizona smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, they will be talking about how the big bad Callie Torres had an amazing attorney that accosted her in the street to save a dingy pokey little community center and ended up working for her before dumping her sorry ass to go work for someone better... that will be the punchline" Callie smirked.

"Hah! Callie said ASS" Simon interrupted with a giggle.

"Simon you're not allowed to say ass!" Gavin reprimanded without realizing his reprimand would require him saying the forbidden naughty word too.

"How about neither of you say ass... Callie said it because she is a naughty girl, but she is also an adult so sometimes she gets to say naughty words" Arizona interrupted the argument that was right on the verge of erupting, she had to bite back a laugh when she received two contrite apologies teamed with wide sorrowful eyes were aimed at her.

"At least they listen to you! If I had said that they would have just turned it back at me and called me an A.S.S" Callie mocked as the boys leant forward to entertain each other whilst pointing out the window and the two women fell into silence, content to just enjoy the moment and listen to the boys chattering about the different buildings and how their daddy's buildings beat them all, their voices full of pride for their family empire. Finally the boys silenced, content to just enjoy the ride and watch the streets flying by below them.

"I just want to say again, I'm really sorry for being so unbearable that you wanted to quit" Callie broke the silence without looking at the blonde, her attention still outside the window and at the many thoughts swirling inside her head.

"Calliope you don't need to apologize... anyways unbearable would have been bearable" Arizona teased having sensed the brunettes somber mood and wanting to cheer her up and couldn't help but giggle when Callie's eyes shot in her direction with a playful glare.

"I suppose it's a good thing that you have almost finished your hand over with Erica then" Callie forced a supportive smile onto her face despite the misery she felt but the weight of looking at Arizona became too heavy and she turned to look back out of the window.

Arizona studied her for a few moments, she had guessed that Callie would struggle a little with the demise of their working relationship, but Callie actually looked quite upset and pained. Callie was notorious for hiding her feelings behind her sense of humor, but Callie wasn't even cracking jokes right now, which meant one of two things... Arizona was ether over analyzing things and Callie wasn't as upset about her leaving as she thought... OR... she had been under analyzing and Callie was too upset to even try and hide behind her jokes.

But why would Callie be so upset about her leaving? Sure they had grown close over the last almost year, and sure Callie had come to rely on her for a lot... they both had come to rely on each other in fact, but ever since their argument when she had quit, Callie had been doing really well at managing things on her own and would try to keep her demands on Arizona's time as low as possible. In fact usually when Callie approached her these days it was to hang out and not just to get an answer or a quick bit of advice, where before Callie would have just breezed into the room, asked a question, got her answer and left until five minutes later when she needed something else. Now however the brunette would breeze in with a coffee, or lunch... she even once arrived with a magazine which had a feature on NYC's urban development and which buildings the mayor was considering putting a protection order over so that they would be safe for the future... then she would sit and talk to Arizona... catch up with her and find out what was going on with her and how she was coping with single life, then she would ask several questions, most of which were related to work, then she would leave after making sure that Arizona had promised to not work late that night, so Arizona thought that Callie had gotten into a place where she could easily function without her presence... so what on earth had the brunette so quiet and subdued?

"Yeah... So the Children's League Benefit will be my last official event as an employee of Torres Industries, then my last day the next day and then that's it, I will be out of your life forever" Arizona watched intently as Callies horror stricken face spun to look at her with eyes full of fear.

"Wait, what do you... what do you mean 'out of my life forever'?" Callie gasped into the microphone that perched near her mouth.

"Professionally... we can still catch up and hang out sometimes... especially if it involves my two favorite muggles" Arizona smiled sheepishly. Callie's reaction to her words had not been expected, but it had been what she was fishing for what she said it. Why did Callie panic so much at the thought of not seeing her? What the hell was going on here... surely Callie didnt have feelings for her? That was just crazy, Callie didn't like feelings, Callie didn't do feelings, Callie didn't like relationships, Callie didn't like relationships with feelings, so why the hell was she acting like this? What the hell was going on?


	22. Chapter 22

A/N - So here we are, the beginning of the end... the moment you have all been waiting for... it's time to get these girls together, but first... Erica has some shit stirring to do! I had to separate the next FOUR chapters up because originally it was one huge long crazy chapter that took about an hour and a half to actually read... i know right!

A few have commented on how Arizona seems so dumb by not seeing it, it's a mixture of her feelings coming completely out of the blue. When she met Cal she hated her with a passion and everything she stood for, the longer they have been around each other those feelings have developed on their own accord. it's like when you get a haircut and you really like it then you look in the mirror two months later and suddenly your hair is like four inches longer and you have no idea how it got so long, because you see it every day and don't recognize that it's growing... that's whats going on with Arizona... she has experienced these feelings inside her mutate so slowly that it hasn't caught her attention that they have even changed yet... have no fear though, she will very soon!

I'm gonna just go and hide somewhere now because I can already see the hate mail starting to arrive!

Love AL x

-oOo-

"Hey Callie" Erica smiled sweetly as she poured a cup of coffee in the staff room at T.I. HQ. Callie had just entered the room in search of Alex Karev, who was completely MIA.

"Oh Hey Erica, how are things going?" Callie asked with a smile, the new woman had practically been by Arizona's side since she had taken her on board, and she was hoping that Hahn was taking advantage of Arizona's mentoring whilst they went through the handover of the position.

"Oh, they are going... I have tennis elbow from the other day though" Erica smirked proudly as she reminded Callie of their win at the company team day.

"Arizona still has tennis forehead I believe" Callie raised her eye slightly, she didn't want to outright accuse the woman, but her behavior prior to the incident and the incident itself certainly seemed a little fishy.

"Oh, I still feel absolutely terrible about it, Thank god she looks ok for that benefit you are all going to tonight" Erica smiled sadly as she tried to hide the hope and desperation for an invite out of her voice.

"Very true, we would hate for people to think we are slave drivers who beat our staff" Callie scoffed as she took the coffee that Erica had held out to her.

"Yes... indeed! So what's this benefit for anyway?" Erica asked nonchalantly as she steered the conversation back to the event she desperately wanted to attend without having to ask outright for an invitation to it and embarrass herself in front of the stunning woman who was now her boss.

"Oh it's a charity called the New York Children's Legacy. It's a company that Arizona's best friend founded and runs and we donate a lot of money to help them out. They work in all aspects of children's care from helping them out if they have a need for counselling after being in an accident, or coming from an abusive environment or even if they had just had a tough run in life and need some help getting back on the right tracks. They have affiliations with several children's homes in the state and try to help the homes get the kids into loving families and then continue to support them so that any issues they have from their lives won't impact their futures. They are currently looking into opening up something of an orphanage so that kids who live on the streets have somewhere safe to go and sleep at night and get help without being forced to hand themselves in... the benefit tonight is something Arizona talked me in to setting up to get as many of our rich and famous friends in one room with their wallets to raise funds for their latest project and to drum up some PR for the charity, I even managed to convince Trump to pay for the bar tab" Callie grinned proudly. "We also get a huge tax break which is what helped me convince Daddy" Callie laughed.

"Sounds exciting" Erica laughed sweetly at Callie's joke despite not being at all interested in the charity the brunette had explained to her.

"It has it's moments! Anyways, Arizona will hand me my ass if I don't find Karev and pass this message along!" Callie smiled before turning to make her way to the door.

"See you later... have fun tonight at the benefit" Erica gave a tight smile, clearly Callie wasn't very good at picking up on hints.

"You know... if you don't have any plans tonight a bunch of us are going, you can come along and see the legacy that Arizona is going is leaving you to look after?" Callie offered after the third hint had been thrown at her, it would just be awkward not to invite the woman now.

"Oh...umm... sure that would be great, I'm pretty sure I'm free" Erica smiled and had the grace to look surprised at the offer and Callie had to bite down her amusement as she left.

-oOo-

"These need to go to accounting for the loan agreements to be notarized" Arizona informed as she passed a pile of manila folders over to a bored looking Erica.

"Sure I will take them over right now before..."

"And these zoning reports need their appraisals doing a-sap before they can be signed off by Callie and sent to the zoning commission" Arizona continued as she glanced at her watch to see how much time she had left before she absolutely HAD to leave to start getting ready.

"Actually Arizona, I won't have time to do these today, Callie asked me to go to the benefit with her tonight... I mean she didn't outright ask me on a date, but the way she was flirting when she asked, she definitely implied it was a date" Erica smiled dreamily.

"Oh that's... great... yes great!... Super!" Arizona stammered as she eyed the false blonde and the dreamy expression and couldn't explain why she was feeling so angry about this turn of events. It was Callie's choice who she spent her personal time with, she had no monopoly over the woman, so why was she feeling so put out? And this fire in the pit of her stomach... and the heat that was spreading across her chest... Jesus... was she feeling jealous? What right did she have to feel jealous, and why was she jealous? It was jealousy right... not just... feeling pushed out by her replacement... sure that was it, she wasn't jealous, she was just feeling sad that her replacement was being accepted so easily and was fitting in and filling her shoes before she had even taken them off.

"Yes it took me by surprise too, but she insisted and who am I to turn down a date with Callie Torres? I just need to work out what I'm going to wear. You've known Callie a while... does she seem more like the type to appreciate elegant and classy... or elegant and... teasing?" Erica asked as she eyed the blonde hoping for an answer.

"Oh umm... somewhere in between I guess..." Arizona offered despite herself, unsure of whether to advise the woman to dress in a nun's habit that completely covered her up and would make her look disgusting or to wear something completely inappropriate that would have her ejected from the benefit. But Arizona was a woman of principles, she was an adult, a mature grown up and even though she didn't like Erica, or the way she surrounded Callie like a desperate gold digger, it wasn't her place to vet Callie's prospective lovers.

"Great thanks... I have to say I'm really nervous, Callie seems amazing, I really would hate to embarrass her by wearing something she wouldn't approve of" Erica smiled as she began swinging on her chair dreamily.

"Sorry to cut this short but I have to get these dropped to Cal before I head out" Arizona offered a tight smile as she rose from her chair.

"Oh I could do that" Erica jumped up hopefully, any excuse to flirt with Callie was good for her.

"No that's ok" Arizona practically snapped before forcing her voice to sound more neutral. "I mean, I have to discuss a few things with Calliope anyway. I guess I will see you tonight Erica" and with that Arizona was gone, marching through the halls of T.I. with a purpose in her step and fire in her eyes.

"Calliope. Sign these before you even think about leaving otherwise we will default on seven different loans and you will have to explain it to your father! See you tonight" Arizona pressed the manila folder containing the agreements into Callie's chest without pausing as the brunette clutched them before they could fall.

"You're in sooo much trouble!" Mark smirked when Callie glanced at him questioningly.

"Wait a second Arizona... what's wrong?" Callie ignored her friend and chased the blonde.

"Wrong? Nothing is wrong here, I just don't want you to forget the loans that need signing before they default!" Arizona offered tightly as the elevator doors slid open and she stepped into the box and turned to give a blank stare to the brunette, her face was void of any emotion. If Callie wanted to hook up with an obvious gold digger like Erica 'desperate' Hahn then she wasn't going to get in the way or give her any warning, Callie Torres was a big girl, she could make her mistakes without Arizona's help.

"Ok... I will go and do them right now, but I was hoping to go over tonight's speech with you, you know how much I value your thoughts on my speeches, you always have a way of making them better and tonight's speech needs to be perfect for Teddy's benefit" Callie furrowed her brow at the way Arizona was looking at her with a void in her normally expressive eyes.

"Sorry, I've got an appointment to get to" Arizona shrugged as the doors signaled that they were about to start closing.

"Well I will pick you up at eight in the car, I asked Erica to come, you don't mind do you?" Callie asked hopefully.

"Mind? Why would I mind? I already have a lift though thanks, I'm sure Erica is perfectly capable of proofing your speech, it is part of her job" Arizona offered with a tight smile as the elevator doors slid shut on Callie's pained face.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N - 502 made a very valid point, that was an unusually short chapter, so here is another update! I'm just going to go back to hiding now!

AL xxx

-oOo-

"Well?" Mark asked with his eyebrows raised.

"I have no idea!" Callie whined as she threw her hands up into the air frustration.

"Well you must have done something, Arizona doesn't just get mad for no reason, what did you do Torro?" Mark scoffed.

"Here's the thing... that wasn't mad Arizona... I have seen Arizona mad, I have made Arizona all kinds of mad lot's of times and I have NEVER seen her like that, that wasn't her mad! I just.. I don't actually know what that was!" Callie led Mark into her office and closed their door for some privacy.

"So if that wasn't mad... then what was it?" Mark asked as he dropped onto the couch and watched his best friend start pacing.

"I really don't know Mark.. What the hell have I done to make her that... whatever that was?! I was in her office like an hour and a half ago and everything was fine, we were talking and joking and there was even a little bit of flirting... I don't get it! I don't understand Mark" Callie glanced at her best friend worriedly.

"Ok well something must have happened... why don't you sit down and let's go over everything you have done in the last hour and a half and we will see if we can work out what the issue is... sound good Torro?" Mark smiled sweetly, knowing if he used his childhood nickname for the brunette it would settle her down a little and make her more receptive to listening to his advice.

"Ok... so she told me to tell Alex that she needed some reports on her desk by three so she could get them actioned, and then I left in search of him... I went to his desk to find him and he wasn't there and I was told he ducked out but he didn't say where to so I went looking around the floor for him and spoke to a few people to see if they had seen him, someone suggested I try the kitchen because he was probably raiding the fridge again and then I bumped into Erica and... oh no... no, shit! I know what it is, I know why she is pissed with me!" Callie gasped and turned wide eyed to her best friend.

"Well come on, don't leave me hanging" Mark snapped.

"I totally forgot about finding Karev! DAMN IT! I have to go and find him and fix this before I see her tonight" Callie jumped up and began the walk to her door when she was interrupted by her office phone ringing, everyone knew to call her mobile the only person who called her desk phone was her father so he could make sure she was working and not out drinking somewhere and picking up girls. Sometimes Pippa would patch people through but she always ducked her head through the door first to let her know, which meant her dad wanted her.

"Callie Torres, Torres Industries" Callie smirked at Mark with a playful wink, him being on the inside of the joke. See normally Callie would answer her business cell with various one liners that were sure to make the caller laugh, but when it was her father she would answer with all of her professionalism.

"Good to see you haven't disappeared for a facial before tonights event" Carlos smirked at his daughter, well aware of the little scam she had running, but keeping that to himself. Nothing got past Carlos Torres.

"Daddy! What do you take me for? It's still office hours... anyways everyone knows that you don't have a facial the same day of an event... where do you think I was yesterday afternoon when I took a long lunch" Callie grinned when her father let out a bark of laughter at her honesty.

"Of course Mija, I should have known you weren't in the office when you didn't answer your phone" Carlos smirked.

"Yes sorry about that Daddy, but this is a big deal for the New York Children's Legacy and for T.I. as their main sponsor of course. It's imperative that this smile you pay so much to insure looks the best it can" Callie scoffed.

"Yes well, if you worked as hard at your actual job as you did at coming up with excuses for skiving off work, we could both be retired by now!" Carlos mused.

"Oh come on Daddy, you are still working because you don't trust that I won't burn things down to the ground... you have made MORE than enough money to retire this second if you REALLY wanted to" Callie scoffed incredulously.

"Yes well on the topic of money, I have some news that you're not going to like" Callie could practically hear the grimace in her father's voice which instantly put her on high alert. "I have just received the updated estimates on Coney Towers and the costs have skyrocketed and with the issues with zoning for The Wharf, it's going to be cheaper and better business to just knock down the community center and I..."

"Daddy.. Wait... what? What the hell are you talking about we only got the grant for Coney Towers because we said that we would keep the Community Center, we can't just change our mind's now because it will save us a couple of dollars!" Callie dumped into her chair and took some deep calming breaths, now was not the time to lose her head.

"No Mija, We said we intended to keep the center... you know wording is everything" Carlos sighed.

"No wait. You can't... Daddy you can't do this! This community center means everything to Arizona, you can't just rip it down... you can't Daddy!" Callie begged with no shame.

"I'm sorry Mija, I have already signed the paperwork to have the community center demolished. This phone call is purely a courtesy because you are my daughter and I knew the project was important to you, if it was any other project I wouldn't have bothered even telling you, you know that" Carlos sighed, he knew Callie wouldn't have taken this new well.

"Daddy, you can't just make this decision without consulting me first, you know I was taking lead on this project... remember our agreement, if I could prove to you that I could see this project through from start to finish without any issues you would admit that I AM ready to take ownership and be in charge of T.I. and you can start taking some steps back to spend time with Esme and the boys" Callie was starting to feel like she had been played here, and if there is one thing Callie doesn't like, it's having someone play her.

"Calliope, understand I couldn't just take your word it would be ok, of course I have been keeping tabs on how things have been going, it would be extremely poor business practice to do so, of course I trust you but this is Torres Industries we are talking about, not just some plant that you can have a go at keeping it alive, and if it dies you can just buy another one" Carlos attempted to placate his girl.

"You know what Daddy, right now I don't care about betraying our agreement on the project... we will deal with that later, right now what I care about is a promise I made to Arizona about the community center! What can I do to fix this?" Callie pleaded for there to be an answer, it didn't matter to her what the answer was or how big the cost was, she would do anything asked of her to fix this.

"Nothing Mija, there is nothing you can do. It's already done! I'm sorry Calliope, it was a tough decision and I knew that you wouldn't be able to make it objectively so I made it for you, at least when Arizona finds out you can put all the blame on me" Carlos offered knowing it was still not enough to placate the brunette.

"What the hell do you mean Daddy? Why wouldn't I be able to look at the statistics objectively and make a sound business decision that in my opinion was the right for the business, the economy and for the industry. Not everything is about how many dollars go into our bank accounts" Callie's voice rose dramatically, as did Mark's eyebrows the more he listened to Callies side of the argument.

"Calliope, just remember who you are speaking to right now, and since when did you complain about how much money was in your bank account, you have always been all for having more zero's being added" Carlos warned.

"I stopped caring when I made a promise to someone. You always taught me that it was important to keep my word... in fact you said as the face of OUR company it was imperative I kept my word and I made a promise to Arizona that I would keep the community center and now you're expecting me to just break that promise like it means nothing" Callie snapped at her father's arrogance on the topic.

"OUR company Mija? last time I checked it was your grandfather and I that built this company from the ground up, where were you when we were working twenty hour days? Where were you when we went through the recession and didn't have enough dollars in the bank to keep afloat and had to sell our souls to the devil to make sure that T.I. didn't fall to the ground so there was something for you to grow up and inherit? Where were you when things really started to take off and we had more work than minutes in the day? That's right Mija, you weren't there then, you were too young. Don't forget young lady, that you being here is a gift you were privileged to receive, you being here is NOT something you earned and you would be wise to remember that before you start lecturing me on business practices" Carlos growled in a way Callie had never heard before, sure she had been on the receiving end of many rants and many bollockings, but this... this was something entirely new.

"You know what Daddy, I didn't ask for this... I never even wanted this damn job or to work for you and Abuelo, you forced me into it, you wouldn't allow me the opportunity to make my own decision on what I wanted my future to look like... you chose FOR ME! So do not give me all that sanctimonious bullshit that I should be kissing your holy ass in thanks right now" Callie snapped as she slammed her hand on her desk as the anger overrode her senses.

"What did you expect Mija, if I hadn't forced your hand you would be laying in a drunken stupor on some yacht somewhere surrounded by semi naked drunk women and doing nothing with your life... you may think I was controlling you but I was protecting you, I wanted more for you, you deserved more than to just be a spoiled rich brat!" Carlos bellowed.

"You know what Daddy... it was my choice to make on whether I wanted to amount to something or whether I wanted to be on a yacht surrounded by naked women, and don't get me wrong, I appreciate the life you have given me, I appreciate the opportunities that I have had because of you, and I appreciate that I am where I am today because you pushed me so hard, all I am saying is that I should have had a choice if this was the life I wanted... and now that I am here you should be more respectful towards my ranking in OUR company, because it is ours remember Daddy, my name is on all the legal documents as per YOUR request, So if I am lead on a project you need to back off and let me lead and not undermine me and back me into a corner where I have to break a promise that I had every single intention to keep... that's all I am saying" Callie hollared back with the same ferocity as her father's little rant.

"You know what then Calliope, QUIT if this life is so bad! I'm sure Mark wouldn't mind stepping up" Carlos screamed into the phone and Mark's eyes widened in shock as he heard the words before he began shaking his head aggressively to Callie, begging her not to do it and leave him picking up the pieces.

"No I will not give you the satisfaction of quitting Daddy because regardless of what I wanted, this is where I am now, this is my life, and despite it not being what I asked for I do love my life... but you can't just expect me to roll over on this, I made a promise to her Daddy, that's important to me" Callie offered pleadingly, forcing herself to calm down. Screaming at Carlos Torres was not a way to get what you wanted, regardlss of how much he deserved to be yelled at sometimes.

"Calliope it is TOO late. It's done and no amount of your childish little spats are going to change that!" Carlos warned.

"For fucks SAKE Dad, there has to be SOMETHING I can do to fix this!" Callie threw her hands up in annoyance as her anger overwhelmed her.

"Watch your mouth young lady! You will speak to me with respect, I am your father and your boss and I won't stand for that language"

"You know what Mr Torres, you are exactly right, I apologize for my inappropriate reaction. I would like to tender my resignation from the Coney Towers project effective immediately, including all public relations aspects, if you wish to refuse my offer then I will have no choice but to resign from Torres Industries" Callie spat into the phone diplomatically with a voice full of venom, ignoring her best friend who had just jumped up from his front row seat of the argument in horror, raising his arms in shock and mouthing 'WHAT', but Callie ignored hm.

"Mija you can't do that, you are the public face of the company, all PR is your responsibility, it's part of your contract and when you took on joint ownership you signed a contract that you would work for T.I. until you handed it over to a Torres descendant who was capable and trained to run the business, or the business folded" Carlos scoffed.

"Damnit, why cant you just... just... Daddy please don't do this, I will do anything? Please don't make me break this promise, not to her" Callie begged, the tears welling in her eyes.

"It's already done Mija, I'm sorry. I know Arizona is important to you, I know you like her, but this is business. Arizona will have to understand that" Carlos soothed.

"important? Important! Daddy I love her and you are telling me that I have to take the one thing that means everything to her, EVERYTHING, and I have to take it as well as the promise I made, and watch as they both just disintegrate along with any trust and respect she actually does have me!" Callie gasped as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Mija, she will understand" Carlos offered.

"No Daddy she won't... you know what, you give me nothing but shit about my lifestyle..."

"Calliope language!" Carlos interrupted angrily.

"No Dad! you listen to me for once! You give me nothing but shit about how I live my life, all I ever hear from you and Esme is about how I need to stop fooling around with random women and find a nice girl and settle down... and I did, and what did I get for following your sage advice? I got my god damned heart ripped out of my chest for it..."

"And that's my fault I suppose?" Carlos interrupted incredulously.

"No it's not! it was my fault for listening to you, it was my fault for pushing myself so hard to meet your approval and expectations and to not disappoint you that I didn't stop for a second to actually get to know the woman I fell in love with, I just jumped in feet first with my eyes closed and just hoped for the best and of course it bit me in the ass, what the hell else should I have expected! but Arizona isn't Kara! Arizona is everything that Kara, and every other woman I have ever been involved with or met for that matter isn't. She is kind and sweet and principled and smart, she has morals that she stands by regardless of the cost, and she doesn't care about money, or bank balances, or what side of town someone lives on or what neighborhood they grew up in, or... or anything... she doesn't even care about my past or some of the stupid shit I have done, she see's me for who I am whether I want her to or not Dad, she is everything that is good in this world, EVERYTHING and just because you want to make a few more dollars I have to take away one of the most important things in the world to her and break her heart and her trust... you have no idea how much you are hurting me with this decision because now she will never look at me the way I look at her, or worse, you do have an idea but you just care more about your fucking bank balance! You're a fucking asshole dad just... just don't even talk to me right now" Callie spat before slamming the phone down and screaming in frustration, ot caring if the sounds travelled around to the workers outside.

"Cal... what the fuck did you just do!" Mark gasped as he watched his best friend begin to pace the room.

"Fuck him Mark!" Callie growled.

"No not fuck him, regardless of how upset you are, he is your father and he is your boss and you can't speak to him like that. I know he can be infuriating and a jack ass at times, but look at all the shit he has done for you, and hell for me too! He doesn't deserve to be disrespected like that, come on you know better than that!" Mark scolded gently, he knew Callie had a temper on her, and right now he needed to tread very carefully.

"He's ripping down Arizona's community center Mark, and it's all signed off there is nothing I can do to stop it, she is going to hate me... if I lose her because of this I swear I am done with him, he will cease to exist for me" Callie glared at her friend at his gall to defend her father.

"You don't mean that Cal" Mark eyed her with horror in his eyes. "You cant throw away your family because of a girl... a girl who isn't even your girlfriend, nor does she even know how you feel about her... come on Cal! you need to calm down!"

"No what I need to do is go and get ready for this benefit and work out what the hell I'm going to tell Arizona! And I promise you Mark, if I lose her because of this, I will NEVER speak to that ASSHOLE again!" Callie spat over her shoulder as she stormed out the door.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N- 502 sign up for an account so i can PM you will ya, cant give you any spoilers with everyone looking... they might not want spoilers!

Here you go... part 3 of this one big long chapter 21 lol. I'm off to hide because it's only going to get worse lol!

and for the record No... this fic wont be ending the second they hook up... that would be mean after keeping you all hanging for so long to just give you what you want and say 'see ya'.

If anyone is from NYC and actually lives there, please shoot me a PM so i can pick your brain about a few things, research is all well and good but I need a local to help me out with some things :)

ALxxx

-oOo-

"Esme" Callie greeted with a hug and a kiss before turning to her father, her face turning to stone. "Mr. Torres" she offered a somewhat polite nod without making eye contact.

"Mr. and Mrs. Torres, good evening. Mrs Torres you look stunning" Erica smiled politely before looking questioningly at Callie, the anger emanating from her was stifling.

"That's kind of you to say Ms Hahn, you look lovely yourself!" Esme offered as she eyed her husband and step daughter in confusion, the pair were usually at each others throats about something or other, but they were as thick as thieves. She had never seen them this hostile towards each other, never.

"Everything ok Callie?" Esme asked cautiously.

"Oh yes, everything is JUST perfect!" Callie glared at her father as she answered before offering an apologetic smile to her step mother, it wasn't her fault her husband was a jackass.

"Oh really Mija, this isn't the time or place for childish disagreements!"" Carlos muttered between his teeth in annoyance before glancing at Erica with embarrassment.

"Who wants a drink?... I assume that I AM allowed to get a drink Mr Torres, I would hate to be taking a single dollar from your retirement fund!" Callie asked pointedly.

"Carlos what did you do?" Esme deadpanned as she turned to her husband and glared at him expectantly.

"Me, why do you assume that I did something? I did business, that's all I have done and my daughter needs to grow up and stop acting like a spoilt child!" Carlos growled under his voice.

"Spoiled child? You want to see what a spoiled child is? Enjoy your evening Mr Torres!" Callie raised her eyebrow challengingly before walking away with a swagger in her step, her father had no idea what he had just started.

"Fix it right now Carlos!" Esme ordered not paying any mind to the embarrassed Erica who was slowly and awkwardly trying to edge away from the scene.

"I will not fix anything, I have not done anything wrong. She will calm down soon and come to her senses!" Carlos scoffed as he turned and stormed away leaving his wife and newest employee stood in an awkward silence.

"I will take the best tequila you have and make sure you put it and everyone else's drinks for the rest of the night on my card" Callie smirked as she handed over her company card, if her asshole of a father wanted to see her acting like a spoiled child, let's see how he enjoyed being surprised with the bar tab bill.

"Madam it's a free bar, courtesy of the New York Children's Legacy" The bar tender offered with a confused smile.

"Actually, the bar tab was to be settled by the Trumps, however I would like for everything to be charged to my card, however please send the receipt over to Donald and tell him that it's courtesy of Torres Industries and Merry Christmas" Callie smiled as she offered the card up again to the tender who took it before moving to discuss the matter with his boss and get authorisation to do as he was requested.

"What on Earth are you up to Callie Torres?" Callie spun to face Donald's oldest son, the Trump protégé... the Trump version of herself. The Don to her Callie.

"Well, let's just say that I just saved your dad a few thousand and he can thank my dad for pissing me off" Callie scoffed.

"Nice... hitting him where it hurts, right in the bank account!" Don laughed.

"You know it! sometimes our fathers need to just understand SOMETIMES there are things more important than money" Callie sighed before eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hey, I'm with you on this one, I don't want to even know what he has done to upset you this much, but obviously it's something important, you go girl!" Don offered honestly, thinking about all the times he and his father had clashed heads over money and ethics over the years.

"Thanks... can I buy you a drink?" Callie smirked, this was probably the most realistic conversation she had ever had with any of the trumps and the sentimentality of it was too heavy so she broke it up with a joke. A joke that all rich people loved to make at a free bar.

"Oh no... no, no, let me buy you a drink... that photo of you with my Dad is worth an entire vineyard in the south of France, you know he is planning on using it as this years Christmas card right?" Don scoffed before asking the bartender for a scotch on the rocks.

"Hah, make sure you send one to my dad's house as well as his office, he LOVES that photo" Callie laughed mischievously.

"I will be sure to let him know, anyway, thanks for the tips, and the bar tab... I will make sure to let Dad know that it was an insult to your dad and him" Don raised his glass in toast.

"Thanks! Have a good night" Callie raised her glass politely.

"Oh hey... if you really want to piss your dad off... my dad just bid three mill on the two night Paris trip for two" he winked playfully.

"Gotcha" Callie laughed before turning back to face the bar and smiling at the tender that was handing her card back with a smile after entering it in the system to be charged later.

"Why are you paying for drinks at a free bar?" Callie spun around the sound of the sweet voice she would recognize anywhere and her jaw dropped.

"Holy mother of..." Callie trailed off as her jaw dropped as she took in Arizona.

"What? Do I look ridiculous? I knew I should have gone with the black dress" Arizona frowned as she glanced down at her red ball gown and began to self consciously stroke out invisible wrinkles.

"What? No way! you look... wow... I mean... shit! Arizona I'm speechless!" Callie's smile widened as Arizona blushed at the stuttered compliment.

"I cant wait to hear your speech" Arizona smiled softly.

"Well hopefully it doesn't completely suck... my usual proofreader kind of fobbed me off and stormed out on me earlier" Callie offered a sheepish smile.

"About that, I'm so sorry, I was just..."

"Hey Arizona, you made it!" Erica smiled as she approached the two women at the bar.

"Yeah, we had a bit of drama on the way here, Teddy freaked out a little about having to talk in front of so many influential people" Arizona smiled awkwardly.

"She will be fine!" Callie offered with a smile, she was trying her best not to show her annoyance at the interruption. "Just tell her to imagine everyone in their underwear, I do big speeches all the time and it always works for me" Callie raised her eyebrow questioningly as Arizona began to laugh.

"I already did that and when she asked me where I got such a genius idea, passive aggressive much! I told her it was something you would offer up as sound speech telling advice... look's like I've got you pegged Torres" Arizona grinned as Callie pouted.

"I love your dress" Erica offered Arizona as she accepted a glass of champagne from the bar and decided she needed to insert herself a little more firmly into this conversation.

"Oh thanks... you look very beautiful too Erica!" Arizona forced a smile despite wanting to hit the other woman with a brick for her continual interruptions and general drooling over Callie.

"I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" Eventually asked now that she was situated in the conversation and hopefully wouldn't be asked to leave.

"No, no. We were just going over my speech" Callie offered as she winked at Arizona to show that the apology was accepted and there was no explanation necessary.

"Right. Work, work, work Callie! Your dad just asked me to revise your speech now that we're tearing down the community center. He wants me to make sure it doesn't say anything about the community center in it" Erica tried to hide her smirk as Arizona's eyes widened before they filled with anger.

"I'm sorry what?! Calliope, can I please talk to you for a second... ALONE!?" Arizona glared at the contrite brunette who nodded at Erica to give them a moment.

"Just... before you start, I know you are angry and I don't blame you, but please remember that this benefit is extremely important to Teddy, and to you, and we really don't want to make a scene right now... so if you want to scream at me, or pour that champagne over my head... or even take those beautiful shoes off and ram the heel straight through my stupid face, maybe we should head somewhere more private?" Callie suggested with a nervous smile.

"I'm not laughing Calliope! You promised me... I trusted you!" Arizona whispered dramatically.

"Oh, here we go" Callie sighed as she downed her tequila to prepare herself, of course Arizona wouldn't give her the chance to explain how this had happened and would just expect the worst from her.

"You said you needed me to tell you when you are being a jack ass. Well Callie, right now you are the biggest aack ass on the planet!" Arizona spat, her voice rising slightly.

"You know what Arizona... It's frankly none of your business, is it? You don't work for me anymore so whether I'm a jackass or not doesn't concern you!" Callie growled angrily, how could Arizona not even give her the opportunity to explain and just assume that she would allow this to happen and not care about it.

"I cannot believe you Callie! you won't even try to be the person you could be!" Arizona scoffed.

"This is the person I could be... why does everyone expect me to be something I arent!" Callie practically yelled, glancing guiltily at the people near them who turned to look at their argument in interest.

"No Callie you're wrong! You think you're second-rate and there's nothing you can do... the only one who expects the impossible from you is yourself! And I never believed that you were so shallow and untrustworthy until right this minute. This is the first time in a year that I really don't like you" Arizona lost her temper as the tears began to well in her eyes.

"Yeah well I haven't liked me for longer than that. And you know what I'm not particularly crazy about you right now either so why don't you go and be the person you're supposed to be and I will go and be the person I keep getting told that I'm supposed to be and maybe we will both be a lot happier!" Callie scoffed as she focused on the crowd around her, not wanting the blonde to see the pain in her eyes or the tears threatening to fall.

"Oh, good. I see the mature part of the evening has begun. Let me guess, any second now you're going to start pulling out jokes or trying to get in my pants because we both know that it's so much easier for you to hide behind your mask than it is for you to act like a real person!" Arizona scoffed as she eyed a bottle of vodka over Callies shoulder, refusing to look at the brunette.

"You know what Arizona, you don't have a damn clue what you're talking about! But thank you for throwing everything I have ever trusted you with back in my face... I guess It's my fault for letting you in and starting to trust you" Callie shook her head sadly.

"Don't even try talking to me about trust Calliope! I trusted you... that building that your ripping down to make a few extra bucks... that's the last thing I have of my brother... everything else has changed as time passes, everything... but that center, it is exactly the same today as it was the last time I walked in there with him to play tennis. The same bench wobbles. The same lights flicker. The squash court still floods if it rains for more than two days straight. Everything else in the world has moved on without him, but the community center hasn't, and now you've taken that away from me too. My biggest regret was believing I could trust you! I hate you, and no I don't mean that in an affectionate way like I used to, this time I really mean it, I hate you Calliope Iphegenia Torres, and I hope after tomorrow, I never have to see you or your stupid smile ever again" Arizona sobbed as she turned her back on the brunette and marched away angrily.


	25. Chapter 25

"And the winner of the two night Paris trip for two is... Carlos Torres, for a whopping 10 million dollars" the announer's eyes widened in shock as he opened the envelope and read It's contents.

Callie smiled sweetly at her father and raised her champagne in toast as he glared at her, so far her father had won a week long wine tasting experience in the South of France for five million, a two week Mediterranean cruise for two million, a luxury RV for two million, a Lotus Elise for three million, a year's membership to a luxury spa for four million and the night was still young, they were only halfway through the silent auction results and so far Carlos Torres had won every item, and the other attendees were starting to throw dirty looks in his direction for hogging the prizes.

"Calliope what the hell did you do?" Carlos muttered angrily as he took the chair next to his daughter, throwing fake smiles at the people glaring at him.

"What did I do Mr Torres? I didn't do anything, yet somehow I am to blame for everything!" Callie shrugged numbly. Since her argument with Arizona, the anger had diminished and all she felt was empty, alone, betrayed and numb.

"So your telling me you didn't make all those silent bids in my name?" Carlos scoffed challengingly.

"Oh no, of course that was me. Next time you want to force me to go back on a promise perhaps you will remember this night and remember that it cost you my respect as well as all of that money and you will think again" Callie rose from her chair, offered her father a sad smile and moved off to find Mark. She hadn't seen him since just after her argument with Arizona when she had screamed at him to stay the fuck away from her, and he had, much to her annoyance, she needed her best friend right now.

-oOo-

"What the hell is going on with Carlos Torres tonight, the bar staff told me that he took care of the bar tab despite the Trumps having committed to it and now he is taking everything in the silent auction for far more money than they are worth!" Teddy glanced at her friend who had been silent since they had arrived and she had gone off to apologize to Callie for something that had happened earlier in the day in the office.

"Who knows, who cares? Probably just the Torres' throwing all their money around as usual... after all it's all they have, they certainly don't have any morals or integrity!" Arizona spat as she found Callie in the crowd and scowled at the back of her head.

"Ok! Enough now... I want to know what the hells going on with you right now?" Teddy demanded as she grabbed two fresh champagnes from a passing waiter and thrust one in Arizona's hand before waiting with a pointed look.

"What, nothing... I'm fine, I've already told you!" Arizona at least attempted to sound sincere.

"Bull shit... I know you Arizona Michelle Robbins and this passive aggressive crap you're trying to pull right now may work with a lot of people, but it won't work on me... so how about we start again and you tell me what's got your panties in such a twist" Teddy raised her eyebrow in a don't even try and lie to me again' way and Arizona couldn't help but smirk at her.

"I hate you" Arizona scoffed.

"Good... now tell me what happened and don't miss anything juicy out" Teddy grinned.

"So I was trying to apologize to Callie when Erica 'stupid bitch' Hahn..."

"Woah, woah, woah!.. What's with the stupid bitch middle name? What's she ever done to you?" Teddy interrupted with amusement, it was very unlike Arizona be name call.

"What nothing... I just don't like her" Arizona attempted but Teddy raised her eyebrow again.

"Fine! She just rubs me up the wrong way... and tonight Callie and I were meant to be going out to dinner before the benefit and she blew me off to invite Erica 'stuck up cow' Hahn... oh and that stupid woman does nothing but be rude and abrupt until Callie is in the room and then she practically drools and foams at the mouth. All she does is stare and smile at her with this sickening fake smile and act like this really nice person, then the second Calliope isn't looking she turns into a mega bitch!" Arizona whined.

"Ok... why exactly does it bother you so much, you know that Callie enjoys playing the field, you've been around her long enough by now" Teddy asked in confusion.

"Because she deserves better than some shallow two faced bitch who only cares about getting her into bed and that is all Erica ' gold digger' Hahn wants... sex and money, she is practically a damn hooker!" Arizona scoffed.

"Oh my god... holy SHIT!" Teddy shrieked loud enough to garner the attention of everyone in proximity of them.

"What?" Arizona frowned as she eyed her friend questioningly after her sudden loud outburst.

"How did I not see this until now?" Teddy asked herself but Arizona answered.

"See what?"

"I mean come on... you went from hating her and calling her the she devil and spending every moment bitching about her... and then all of a sudden your telling me about how funny she is, and how smart she is, and how sweet she is, and how she has... oh god! How did I not see it when you told me about her secret side that no one see's but is really geeky and silly and sweet.. You love her!" Teddy grinned as she studied her best friend to gauge her reaction.

"What! That's absurd, no I don't... are you crazy?" Arizona laughed.

"You. Love. Her" Teddy teased.

"I do not!" Arizona shrieked.

"You do"

"I don't"

"Do so"

"So don't"

"You do, you love her" Teddy mocked.

"Quit it butt munch! I don't even like her so how could I don't love her" Arizona scoffed in annoyance.

"Liar liar pants on fire!" Teddy sing songed and smirked when Arizona only seemed to get further annoyed.

"Shut up moron I do not love Callie Torres" Arizona spat adamanty before shaking her head in frustrated amusement that Teddy would even think such a thing.

"You do... Oh you so love Callie Torres" Teddy beamed which only served to wind Arizona up even more.

"No I don't, are you being serious right now? She is infuriating and selfish and untrustworthy and... and... and she's a pig!" Arizona screeched as her hands waved animatedly in Callie's direction as if trying to prove a point with each description.

"Sure, a pig that you love!" Teddy scoffed.

"I do NOT" Arizona shrieked, forgetting about the people around them as her voice carried even further.

"Ok... you don't love her... you just have feelings for her and find her attractive and you want to have lots and lots of sex with her and you want to marry her and have little babies with her and live happily ever after!" Teddy smirked as she saw Arizona falter at the accusation.

"Shut up! You love her!" Arizona accused and Teddy couldn't hold in the bark of laughter at Arizona Robbins, highly qualified lawyer and attorney, a woman who was literally paid to come up with good arguments, offer such a rebuttal.

"Hah... I love her? Right! Don't tell my husband!" Teddy held her hands out in mock surrender as she tried to calm down and settle her laughter.

"Well maybe he loves her too... everyone loves Callie damn Torres" Arizona pouted petulantly.

"Everyone loves Callie... including you, right?" Teddy offered slyly.

"Right" Arizona answered before her eyes widened and she glared at a very proud looking Teddy.

"So you admit it, you love her?" The honey blonde smirked

"No I don't, you tricked me" Arizona whined.

"Arizona and Callie sitting in a tree, K.I.S.S.I.N.G!" Teddy sang teasingly between her laughter.

"Shut up doofus! I do not love Calliope Torres!" Arizona pouted as she stamped her foot in annoyance of her bullying best friend.

-oOo-

"Oh, hey Callie... looks like you've been having fun with the company credit card" Mark smiled sheepishly.

"I'm an asshole, I'm sorry I snapped at you, you didn't deserve it" Callie didn't even bother to attempt small talk, Mark was owed an apology and she would be grown up enough to provide it with an offered an apologetic smile before passing over a top shelf scotch, knowing it was his weakness.

"You are an asshole... and no I didn't deserve it... but you're still my Torro... now sit your sorry ass down" Mark smirked.

"I love you Mark, thank you for not giving me a hard time, I'm having the day from hell" Callie confessed as she melted into the chair.

"From the vein about to pop on Mr T's head, I would say he is too" Mark laughed.

"Wait till he gets the bar tab invoice at the end of the night" Callie smirked as Mark laughed. "and he see's the notation I had written in the invoice comments box. 'Merry Christmas Mr. Trump, from your friends at Torres Industries"

"Jesus Cal, he is going to go nuclear" Mark choked on his drink as Callie just shrugged.

"He shouldn't have messed with me, he need's to learn a lesson and it's going to be a very expensive lesson that he won't forget. Every single dollar he made in profits when he decided to rip down Arizona's community center he has spent tonight. It will never give her the sentimentality back, or her actual center... but it's the least I could do considering I broke my promise to her" Callie sighed into her glass

"Cal you did what you could, just explain it to her" Mark nudged her with his shoulder in an attempt to break her from her depressive trance.

"I tried... she wasn't interested, she didn't even let me try to explain and just assumed that I was to blame and tore me a new asshole about it" Callie admitted before wiping angrily at the tear about to fall.

"Well try again" Mark scoffed as if it was obvious.

"What's the point... Mark every time I let a woman get close I'm the one that ends up with a broken heart, I'm done with women... all together... that's it no more women!" Claimed before raising her tequila up in salute to her decision before taking a long swig of it.

"Come on Cal you don't mean that" Mark eyed her worriedly.

"Yeah I do Mark... maybe I'm just not made for love" Callie scoffed at how pathetic she was.

"Oh shut up Callie. Stop this self deprecating crap! Get your head out of your ass and put it between a pair of thighs... what about that Erica chick, she looks into you" Mark suggested hoping he could convince his best friend to make a start on getting over her heartache with a round of rebound sex.

"Mark I'm serious! I'm done" Callie smiled sadly at her best friend before lowering her head to the table.

"No... no, no, no... after the whole Kara fiasco you did this same thing and I lost my best friend for months! I'm not doing it again... I will NOT allow you to write yourself off again, your better than this Callie!" Callie glanced at the pleading steel blue eyes staring her down and shook her head sadly.

"Mark... I'm tired, I'm beat and I'm done.. I thought Kara broke me, but what I feel right now... I didn't even know pain like this existed, and the worst thing is that I didn't even do anything wrong this time, I have done everything to try and stop this... yet somehow I'm the bad guy in all of this" Callie sighed as Mark wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the side of her head affectionately.

"Welcome to heartbreaksville Kiddo, it sucks like shit, but it will get better I promise" Mark soothed as he remembered how he felt when Lexie had broken up with him.

"And that concludes the silent auction, a whopping 42 million was raised, and Carlos Torres was very generous to win every single bid... surely that's got to be a record" The announcer grinned into microphone as a half heated round of expected applause sounded.

"Look at your dad's face... he's about to explode!" Mark sniggered behind his hand.

"You may want to get your phone out and set it to record for this!" Callie smirked as she watched a member of staff approach the announcer with an envelope.

"Oh shit... what did you do Torro?" Marks eyes widened as he started looking for his phone.

"Just wait... Daddy is about to learn that you don't want to fuck with me" Callie grinned as the announcer opened the envelope before glancing at her father with wide eyes and a huge smile.

"Well it appears that Mr Torres has decided to be even more generous than he already has been. With the exception of the two nights in Paris, Torres Industries would like to donate all of their winning bids, and put all of the prizes back into the prize pool to be awarded to the people who were runner up in the bid, and has agreed to pay for their bid also" The room erupted into applause and Callie couldn't help but glance at her father and offer him a round of exaggerated applause and a wink. He did not look happy, in fact he looked like he was about to explode, she had probably cost him almost a hundred million tonight, and it was worth every single dollar.

"Paris however, Torres Industries would like to donate to Ms Altman, founder of New York Children's Legacy in recognition of the hard work she has put into the legacy to date. For those who aren't entirely sure of the legacy's history Teddy Altman has been working for the past three years to try and get the charity off the ground, in that time she hasn't taken a single day for herself apart from her wedding day, not even to take a honeymoon with her husband who she married earlier in the year. Torres Industries would like to wish Teddy and Henry their best wishes for their future and in their marriage and wish them a happy honeymoon" The room erupted again, louder this time as people forgot about their annoyance at the Torres' for being greedy and really began to cheer.

Callie glanced to where she knew Teddy was stood overseeing the events and smiled when she saw Arizona's best friend dancing in joy and she bounded into her husband's arms ecstatically. The exact reaction she had hoped for, Arizona had filled her in on the in's and out's of Teddy's exhausting life trying to run a charity with no history, publicity or funding. The woman was a saint for what she was trying to achieve and a two night holiday, which she fully planned to extend at her own cost, was the least she could do.

"Nicely done!" Mark grinned. "Now no one will be mentioning Carlos' monopoly over the silent bid, or him throwing his cash around tonight, and instead they will discussing how T.I. showed appreciation at a nobody's hard work!.. Perhaps you should be doing my job" Mark grinned.

"Despite what the general consensus is Mark, I'm actually not a complete idiot. And I didn't just do it for that. Arizona has told me all about what Teddy and Henry have gone through to get the Legacy off the ground, she deserves to take a few days for herself with her husband, and look how happy they are" Callie motioned towards the ecstatic couple.

Callie's eyes met Arizona's and despite how hurt she was and despite being angry at Arizona's behavior and words, the second Arizona offered a smile of gratitude for the beautiful thing Callie had done, the brunettes heart fluttered and she couldn't help but smile in return before the hurt overpowered her once more and she turned away. Nope, Callie Torres was done with Arizona Robbins, and all other women.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N -

Well here you go people... one of the chapters you have been waiting for... it's finally time for the penny to drop and for Arizona to finally realize how she feels about Callie, but first we need some drama, flair and angst to get her there... because she may be a genius but she's still pretty dumb and clueless when it comes to Callie Torres!

AL xxx

-oOo-

"I can't believe your girlfriends dad just gave us a honeymoon to the most romantic place in the world" Teddy grinned, she was so excited to finally be visiting a place she and Henry had always dreamed of going, it was one on their extensive list, but still, they were going to be honeymooning in Paris!

"Well you can thank Carlos but he had nothing at all to do with it" Arizona scoffed. "and she's NOT my girlfriend" Arizona tossed a glare sideways to her best friend who was smirking happily.

"Wait… what do you mean he had nothing to do with it?" Teddy asked as she glanced at Carlos and found him muttering angrily at the woman he had earlier introduced as his wife who looked like she was disinterested in his angry rant before she pointed in Callie's direction and patted him on the shoulder with a smirk.

"Well I'm just going to make a few wild guesses here, but if I were you I would put some money on me being right… Callie is pissed with Carlos because I'm pissed with her so of course instead of taking credit for her own fuck up she is passing the blame on, so she is getting a touch of payback the way Callie knows best, throwing cash at it" Arizona scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Wait how do you even know that?" Teddy quizzed as she studied the shorter woman.

"Well considering Carlos is marching towards Callie right now with murder in his eyes and Callie is watching him with her false bravado eyes like she's not in the slightest worried about the bollocking she is about to get… but you see how she's biting her lip and twiddling her thumbs? She's totally shitting herself and you see how her shoulders keep tensing and relaxing? She's trying to work out whether to stand her ground and take his bollocking or whether to piss Carlos off further and walk away before he even reaches her… what?" Arizona turned to her friend who was smirking at her with eyes full of amusement.

"And you say you don't love her!" Teddy scoffed.

"How did you get back to that crap from what I just said?!" Arizona furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Ok, let me ask you this… you have known me what? Twenty five years?" Teddy asked as she eyed the blonde, knowing it was time to spell out the obvious to the painfully clueless woman.

"Give or take… what's your point?" Arizona shrugged.

"What am I thinking right now?" Teddy crossed her arms and stared at her best friend and waited.

"How the hell am I supposed to know Teds, I'm not a damn mind reader!" Arizona scoffed.

"Exactly… you're not a mind reader! You've known me twenty five years and can't tell that I'm thinking about how much of a stubborn idiot you are sometimes when you are stood a meter away and staring me right in the eyes… yet you've known Callie less than a year and can read her like you've been watching her and studying her your whole life from across the room, when she practically has her back to you" Teddy raised her eyebrows at Arizona as if she was completely dumb for not getting this.

"That's absurd! Come on Teddy I've been working close to her for months now… it's my job to read her!" Arizona scoffed before turning her gaze back to Callie thoughtfully and furrowing her brow at the obviously heated argument she was having with her father whilst trying to keep up appearances in front of the benefit guests with a fake smile.

"Arizona just stop… just for one second stop trying to deny it, stop fighting it, stop pretending and answer me this... why exactly are you so upset that Callie brought Erica?" Teddy asked pleadingly.

"I'm not upset that she brought her I'm upset because she cast our plans aside without a second thought to try and get laid and I'm upset because she broke a promise to me and now the community center is as good as gone!" Arizona whined

"You are so damn stubborn Arizona! I could just hit you because your so frustratingly stubborn" Teddy shouted in frustration as she began rubbing her temples.

"I am not!" Arizona argued as she folded her arms and glared at her best friend.

"Don't start this again! You're jealous of Erica" Teddy demanded, sick of trying to get the stubborn blonde to work it out for herself.

"Pah sure I am… why the hell would I be jealous of THAT skank?" Arizona scoffed incredulously.

"Umm how about we start with... because your in love with Callie and you see the way 'that skank' keeps looking at her and the thought of Erica touching Callie in the way you want to is driving you insane!" Teddy scoffed in return as she watched Arizona mulling over what she had just said before she began shaking her head in disbelief.

"Your wrong… and even if you WERE right, we could never be together! We are like chalk and cheese! And on top of all of that she promised to save Tim's community center and then she just decide's to destroy it to make a few extra bucks that she doesn't need even though she knows how important it is to me, I could never trust her again after…"

"I'm gonna stop you right there blondie…" Mark interrupted her rant, and Arizona spun to face him in surprise "Callie can be a lot of things and if you want to hate her then that's up to you… but you need to get the facts straight first" Mark casually learned his forearms against the metal railing and watched Callie and her father still lost in their heated discussion like he had never seen before.

"What are you even talking about Mark?" Arizona sighed tiredly the last thing she wanted was to have Mark sticking his nose into her business.

"Take a look at this… have you ever seen Callie and her father go at it like this? Especially in the middle of an event with people around then watching and not in the privacy of Carlos' office…? Mark glanced at the blonde who was shaking her head as she watched the scene below with a heavy heart.

"They are fighting like that because Carlos pulled rank on her today... he told her that he was pulling down your center and Callie cracked her shit with him about it. I was sat there for the entire thing… I have never once in my life seen Callie Torres concede defeat and beg her father for anything but she begged him to not make her break this promise. You know why blondie?… because she made the promise to you! She then proceeded to remove herself from the project hoping to force his hand and when he still wouldn't budge, she threatened to quit despite doing everything so far in her life to please him she was going to walk away from it all before she would allow him to do this to your silly little center, then when he still wouldn't give in she called him a fucking asshole to his face and slammed the phone down on him, she has been calling him Mr Torres ever since and is only now looking him in the eye for the first time... She told me that she was planning to wash her hands of him in her personal life, she doesn't want anything to do with her own father because of all of this... and here you are crying about how she has betrayed you" Mark scoffed angrily as eyes full of fire turned to the blonde.

"Why didn't she tell me this? Why did she let me think she was to blame?" Arizona gasped as turned her attention away from the bickering Torres' and onto Mark who was looking at her incredulously.

"Because you wouldn't give her the chance to Arizona! The second you found out about it you jumped to conclusions, yelled at her then walked away without her having a chance to tell you the truth and now she's got a broken heart and from the looks of how this conversation is going she won't need to freeze her dad out because if I know Callie, which we both know I do, any second she is about to storm away and disappear for god knows how long to god knows where… just like she did when Kara broke her heart" Mark snarked as he absently pointed in Callie's direction.

"Wait… why are you comparing me to Kara?" Arizona asked in confusion.

"Oh come on Arizona use that IQ of yours will you! When was the last time Callie slept with anyone?" Mark raised his eyebrows as high as they would go hoping his dramatics would get through that thick skull of Arizona's.

"How the hell should I know?" Arizona glared, getting fed up of all these stupid questions being directed at her.

"Jesus blondie! Let me clear this up for you… it's been months… several months, since before your big argument when you quit!" Mark stated and watched Arizona waiting for any sign that she was understanding anything he was telling her.

"I don't understand… what does this have to do with anything happening today?"

"Fucking hell blondie I thought you were meant to be a genius!" Mark tossed his hands in the air in frustration, eyeing the taller honey blonde who guffawed at his actions.

"That's what I've been telling her" Teddy explained when she had caught her breath and calmed down slightly, ignoring the daggers her best friends eyes were throwing at her for laughing at a time like this.

"Ok blondie... one last time and I am going to be completely brutally clear here like I am talking to someone with no IQ at all... Callie hasn't slept with anyone since she realized that she was falling in love with YOU… Remember the night she found out about your Jo being a lying cheating whore? Yeah, guess how that topic came up! She was devastated that she had finally found someone worthy of loving and that she was already falling in love with her but she had a girlfriend... so being her best friend I of course confided in her what I knew about your charming ex so that she would calm down and see that it was just a matter of time until you worked out Jo was a cheater and kicked her ass to the curb, but Callie couldn't stand to sit on the information and let Jo play you and so she told you, against my advice I may add... And you do know who Callie Torres is right? She hasn't gone this long without sex since… hell, since she hit puberty! Because. she. is. in. love. with. you, and her father backstabbing her and making her break this stupid promise to you, and then your immature little spat when you found out about it and throwing all kinds of spiteful, hurtful crap in her face.. It's broken her Arizona!"

"Wait… what?! Wait, what are you... Mark what... what are you saying Mark? Are you... are you telling me that Callie is... in... love with me?" Arizona gasped as she glanced at Callie on the floor below her and studied her as she fought animatedly with her father.

"Ding, ding, ding, give the lady a prize" Mark mocked.

"Don't be a jack ass Mark!" Arizona glared at him as her mind reeled through all of the information swirling through her mind.

"Don't be an idiot blondie. Do you realize the only reason Carlos is tearing the center down is because he wants to improve the profit margins? When Callie found out she forced the accounts team to release the data to her on what the profit margins were to date on Coney Towers with the demo… she has spent every single estimated dollar tonight… all 56 million of it!" Mark scoffed at Callie's balls on this, No wonder Carlos was fuming.

"She did WHAT!" Arizona squeaked, ignoring the faces that spun to look at her in interest at her interruption.

"Her words were that if Mr T valued the money more than her integrity then he didn't deserve a cent of it. So she spent it all... hence why Mr T looks like he is about to have a heart attack. 56 million in one night just to teach him a lesson not to fuck with what's important to Arizona Robbins because it's the only thing she could do, everything else she tried to do to fix this failed" Mark smirked as blue eyes widened as she stared at the brunette as Callie wiped away at her eyes to angrily remove a tear and mouth something which looked suspiciously like "go fuck yourself", turn on her heel and storm away.

"She really did that for me? Not just because she's mad at him for me being pissed at her?" Arizona asked vulnerably.

"She did it because she loves you and having to break that promise to you broke her heart more than the bullshit you threw at her when you found out about it" Mark offered seriously as he stared the blonde woman down.

"Shit I have to go talk to her" Arizona began to move away but Marks firm grasp on her forearm stopped her in her place. "No!"

"What the hell do you mean no" Arizona scoffed as she eyed the tall man incredulously.

"No, I won't let you hurt her anymore than you already have blondie, you leave her alone and let her mend her broken heart Arizona. I only came to talk to you because I wanted you to know the truth, now you know! Like i said, you're welcome to hate her but, but make sure you're hating her for the right reasons and not some dramatic fabrication your mind conjured up because you couldn't give her the respect of decency to listen to her and find out what really happened" Mark offered, but his voice wasn't venomous, it was just pained.

"Mark I have to talk to her!" Arizona practically pleaded.

"No, you don't! What you have to do is leave that poor woman alone because she's broken right now and she doesn't need another woman she loves messing with her head so just back off and leave her alone Arizona" Mark ordered.

"Mark please!" Arizona scoffed.

"No! Leave. Her. Alone!" Mark spelled out with hands on his hips and shook his head defiantly.

"No!" Arizona spat as she mirrored his stance and straightened her back.

"What do you mean no!" Mark scoffed at the small woman's attitude.

"No I won't leave her alone! I need to talk to her. I need to fix this! I need to tell her I'm sorry and that I lo…" Arizona trailed off as she tasted the next words on her lips, her eyes widened in shock.

"What Arizona? What could possibly be so important that you HAVE to go and talk to her right this second?" Mark asked and tried so hard to keep a straight face, of course Arizona's slip up hadn't passed him, of course he know what two letters came after the L and the O, but he needed to make sure that Arizona knew what she wanted to say before he let her loose near his best friend.

"I have to apologize!" Arizona forced herself to say as she looked away from Mark in embarrassment.

"Then send her a text!" Mark ordered and turned his nose up in distaste.

"I can't tell her that I'm in love with her on a damn text message, I'm not fifteen Mark!" Arizona snapped as she began pacing in annoyance that she was being kept away from Callie, she had finally realized what all of these feelings were. Not that she didn't realize, she wasn't stupid, they just crept up on her out of no where so subtly that she wasn't even aware at what point she had transformed from like to love.

"I KNEW IT!" Mark and Teddy screeched at the same time with matching grins before they eyed each other in amusement at how idiotic they must have looked, then with a shrug they high fived in celebration.

"Oh shut up! Both of you! Can I please just go after her Mark I need to fix this, PLEASE!" Arizona begged, not caring how shameful it must look having her begging Mark of all people.

"What the hell are you asking me for, I'm not her damn father… What are you even still doing here blondie!" Mark scoffed as he stepped aside and practically shoved Arizona towards the stairs.

"But you said… " Arizona stared at him dumbly.

"I said what I said to get you to stop being a stubborn fool and open your eyes before it's too late! Also you aren't really used to people saying no to you, so watching you dealing with that was just... so much fun!" Mark smirked teasingly.

"You jack ass!" Arizona screeched as her arms threw up in the air in a sign of pure frustration.

"Quit gossiping and go fix this! And I want to be best man at the wedding!" Mark ordered with a smile.

Arizona grabbed the bottom of her gown and hitched it up as she kicked off her shoes and grabbed them before she started running, not caring about the scene she was making as she descended the stairs dramatically with a huge grin, it was time to go and get her girl and she just hoped that she could conjure up an apology that Callie would deem acceptable.

"Ms Robbins, a word!" Arizona spun in the direction of the voice to find Callie's father glaring at her.

"With all due respect Sir, I have somewhere I need to be right now" Arizona gasped between her pants as she eyed the door over Carlos' shoulder that Callie had fled through.

"With all due respect Ms Robbins, what you need to do right now is sit your ass down and listen to what I have to say… NOW!" Carlos pointed at the chair near to him with a pointed tense smile and Arizona couldn't do anything but follow his instructions. Carlos had never been so abrupt with her and she didn't dare argue with him, all she could do was hope this would be quick so that she could go and find Callie.

"I'm sure by now you are aware about the developments with Coney Towers?" Carlos asked without a trace of remorse.

"I am… Erica broke the news earlier" Arizona pouted slightly and Carlos had to glance at his glass to not fall for the trap Arizona was clearly trying to catch him in.

"Yes well… it's come to my attention that your under some impressions which aren't entirely accurate!" Carlos started but Arizona was quick to jump in. "I just spoke…"

"All you need to do is sit there and listen Ms Robbins, if I need you to speak I will let you know! It was me that made the decision, Calliope didn't know anything about the decision until I informed her earlier today… you are close to my daughter, I have no illusions that you are fully aware that she and I do not see eye to eye on a lot of things and as a result we tend to have some heated disagreements as frequently as we do our laundry… it's the Mexican in us, we have short fuses and feisty tempers… but I have never had my daughter speak to me the way she has today. I have never had her challenge my authority and defy me so blatantly as she has today. And I understand why she is doing It, it's because she is trying to protect the woman she loves and that's why I went over her head in the first place, I knew she would never be able to look at those figures and make an objective decision for the benefit of the company because all she would do is rank her promise to you over any amount of money and as sweet and beautiful as that is… this is business, not a playground, there are no room for emotions in business."

"Now I am sorry that you will be losing your community center, BUT I need you to know that Calliope played no part In this, in fact she has fought with me over it since the second she found out and I have a daughter and a wife who are giving me the silent treatment and I have no illusions that I will be sleeping on the couch tonight because of this… but that isn't what matters, what matters is that you are aware of how much my daughter cares for you and how much she tried to change my mind on this, for god's sake she has cost me nearly a hundred million dollars today! Just to teach me a lesson because of you… you know Calliope… you know that this is not something she would ordinarily do, she doesn't let people into that big heart of hers, especially not after that horrid ex wife of hers! But somehow you broke down her walls and got in and she is crazy about you, like, willing to wipe me out of her life completely crazy about you… she's changed since you've came into her life! I've always known the other side of my daughter, the side that no one else knows exists and outside of my home I never get to see it… until a few months ago when things started changing and that 'real' side of her started showing up in all sorts of unexpected places… and it's all because of you" Carlos held his hand up when Arizona tried to interrupt him again, he still had a few things to get off of his chest and he was on a roll.

"If you ask Callie what my dream is for her she will tell you all about her growing up and taking over T.I., of building it even bigger and better than I and my father have. But if you were to ask my wife what we discuss when we are laid in bed falling asleep and dreaming about the future's our children will lead… my dream is for Calliope to find her happiness, to find that person that makes her smile the way she does when she's around Gavin and Simon and even Aria… to find her home whether it's a place, a career or a person… just that thing that she calls home. And for my own selfish reasons I hope her home is in the shape of a good woman who can tame that wild side of hers and give me some beautiful grand babies… I believe that YOU are that home for Calliope. I have been watching the two of you for a long time now, I've seen the way you look at each other, the way you make each other smile and laugh. I've watched as my daughter steps out of line and I've watched you keep up with her and challenge her where others would have just given in to her, that little meeting in my office a few months back, I have never met anyone, not even myself, that would challenge Calliope in that way. Now I know my daughter and she only admitted it to me today, even though I don't think she realizes that she admitted to me that she was in love with you… what I don't know, is how you feel, and I really hope that you feel the same, I think you do, you certainly act like you have at least some feelings for her… but I love my daughter, she infuriates me and she is the sole reason that I'm bald… but she is my little girl and I won't let anyone hurt her, so if you don't reciprocate those feelings, I'm going to have to respectfully ask you to keep your distance, she is strong as hell but she is also extremely delicate and fragile and I can't bear to see my Mija broken again!"

"Sir… with all due respect, I think I should tell Calliope how I feel, before I tell her father. I was actually on my way to find her when you pulled me aside but I give you my word that what I have to tell her is good, if she will forgive me for blaming her and taking it out on her" Arizona offered a sad smile, her mind reeling from the overload of information Carlos had just thrown at her.

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier! Go get her! My limo is out the front, take it and go, Esme and I will catch a cab home" Carlos jumped from his seat eagerly and clapped his hands together as he bounced on the spot with a ginormous grin.

"What?... I can't do that, you hate cabs!" Arizona scoffed as she eyes Callie's father and tried not to laugh at his childish reaction.

"I do, but I love my daughter and the sooner you get there and fix this mess that I made, the sooner she's not hurting so I insist! Now go!" Carlos smiled as he grabbed Arizona's hand and pulled her from the chair before pushing her in the direction of the exit.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N - Sorry for not updating yesterday, I had a few issues that kept me away from the computer and it's hard as hell to upload a chapter from the phone. Ok so here is your chapter...*grabs several riot shields, builds a fort and hunkers down with hands over head for protection* - AL xxx

-oOo-

"Callie, thanks again for inviting me up for a nightcap. This was a spectacular evening. But I can't help but notice that you're a little upset, is there anything I can do to help?" Erica asked sweetly from her seat at Callie's kitchen bar where she was cradling a glass of scotch and studying the brunette who seemed to be hanging on to her own scotch like it was a lifeline.

"Oh it's nothing, just a little misunderstanding between my father and I, nothing to worry about" Callie smiled tightly as she eyed Erica. She had no idea how she had ended up in her apartment with the false blonde, all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry herself to sleep. Today had been the single worst day of her life and she just needed for it to be over already.

"It looked pretty serious to me. Did it have anything to do with how upset Arizona seemed after we were discussing Coney Towers?" Erica asked despite already knowing the answer, she was well aware of the blondes ties to the project and had taken great pleasure in being the one to break the news to her.

"Honestly, it's nothing to worry about. It will be business as usual come tomorrow" Callie offered numbly before taking a large gulp of her scotch. She knew she was lying, things wouldn't be ok for a long time, especially not after the bollocking she had given her father in the middle of the benefit with an audience. No, things would be tense and awkward for a long time.

"Ok… well you know if you want to chat, I'm a good listener, I'd like to be your friend as well as your colleague" Erica smiled shyly as she studied the brunette sipping at her scotch.

"I appreciate it Erica, and I do consider us friends… there's just nothing to say… but thanks" Callie forced a smile to hide her pain hoping Erica would drop the topic, finish her drink and let Callie get to bed.

"So your planning a redesign?" Erica asked as she finally tore her eyes from the latina and glanced around the apartment. It was the first time she had managed to get an invite into the elusive penthouse apartment and it was nothing at all what she expected from the glamorous brunette, but she could see that Callie had designed the space with the intent to wow and woo women, and a far call from the room she was temporarily calling home several floors below them.

"Yeah It's been like this since the original remodel… I just feel like it's time for a change, y'know" Callie looked around the place she called home with a crinkle of distaste in her nose, it didn't feel like home at home... it felt like a VIP shag pad that was filled with the best of the best. But regardless of how much she felt like she was outgrowing the space, especially in the last few months, it was her home non the less, like it or not.

"Well you certainly have exquisite taste Callie, this place is incredible" Callies eyes flicked to Erica and it was obvious that the woman was trying to flirt with her despite her eyes still flickering around the apartment with interest.

"Thanks… you know it's just a bachelorette pad though right?, I feel like I need to have something more mature now, I've finally outgrown all of this" Callie offered and furrowed her brow wondering why she had offered that information so freely to a woman she barely knew and wasnt in the mood to talk to about anything, especially her private life.

"Well I'd be happy to help… I mean I'm terrible with a paintbrush but anything else… I'm your girl Callie!" Erica winked and Callie couldn't help but study her. Sure she found her attractive, but she was no Arizona. Six months ago she would already have had the woman half naked and moaning her name loud enough to echo around her more than spacious apartment, but she just wasn't interested in her like that. The only person she ever considered being with these days was Arizona, and that ship had now sailed. She would be lucky if Arizona spat on her in the street, never mind held a civil conversation with her, or anything more like Callie so desperately longed for.

"You're crying Callie…. Are you ok? Was it something I said?" Erica jumped from her seat and rounded the counter to rub Callie's back soothingly, silently basking in being the one to sympathize and empathize with the beautiful brunette.

"I am?" Callie raised her fingers to her cheeks and sure enough… there was moisture there. She was so taken back at finding the tears rolling down her face without any warning, that she completely ignored the fact that Erica was now so close, far closer than she would have ever planned to be to the false blonde.

"Sorry… it's just been a really long day, I guess I'm not the best company right now" Callie sighed dramatically hoping Erica would take the hint and leave so she could curl up in bed and cry in privacy.

"Hey don't be silly… everybody has those days sometimes… don't worry about it" Erica soothed before pulling Callie into her arms and hugging her. Any other time and Callie would have pulled away but right now she needed that hug more than anything in this world, and she didn't particularly care who the hugger was so she relaxed into it and basked in a indulgent, selfish moment of being comforted and held.

Callie closed her eyes and sighed sadly, wishing with everything she had that the arms she was in were Arizona's arms… beautiful, sweet Arizona who she had unintentionally hurt beyond repair and had now lost from her life for good. She just knew that there was nothing she would ever be able to make it up to the blonde even if he could convince Arizona to hear her out in the first place.

Callie felt a pair of warm moist lips attach to her own and for a second, still lost in her current fantasy of being in Arizona's arms with all forgiven and forgotten, she enjoyed the sensation… until she realized that the kiss wasn't just another part of her day dream, she was actually being kissed and regardless of how nice it felt, it wasn't Arizona's lips, oh shit! oh no!... it was Erica's lips.

"Calliope I think we should finish our conversa…" Arizona stopped dead in her tracks, frozen in place at the sight before her. There was Calliope in a lip lock with Erica 'fucking bitch' Hahn, while Erica's arms were wrapped tightly around the taller woman. Callie turned to the source of voice with wide panicked eyes and she instantly saw the pain shooting through the cerulean eyes that she adored that were watching her in a mixture of horror and disbelief, disgust and agony, anger and misery.

"Arizona, this isn't what it…" Callie began to offer, too shocked to move from her current spot, too surprised to be able to think straight, too alarmed to function. But Arizona had other plans, she had seen enough and she just knew she couldn't handle hearing one of Callies excuses. No the brunette would surely make some wise crack about Arizona joining in with the 'party' and the blonde just knew, after the revelation she had just come to tonight, after all the feelings and emotions and thoughts that had acumilated over the past few months finally having a name to them and finally making so much sense to her, she just knew that now she realized that she was in love with Callie, hearing such a crude and dismissive joke would crush her completely.

"What it looks like?... Right. Very original Calliope, anyway it doesn't matter what it looks like, it's your life to do with as you please… I will leave you two to it, please just forget I was even here!" and with that she was gone, like a whirlwind. One second she was stood in the gap between the half open door and the door jamb, and the next it was if Callie had dreamt the entire exchange up. Although a nightmare would be a far more accurate description of the last few moments, in fact the entire day just felt like one huge, horrible, disgusting, complete joke of a nightmare. Callie closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to force her mind to catch up with what the hell had just happened… and how it could possibly have happened, what was Arizona even doing there? Why had she come? Had she come to forgive her only to misinterpret the situation and have the effort of trying to work thing out thrown in her face? Had she just blown the only chance she actually would get to fix this whole mess?

"Shit!" Callie groaned as she tried to stop the panic that was rising inside her as her chest began heaving painfully.

"Well that was awkward… now where were we?" Erica smirked teasingly as she leant forward towards Callie's lips but Callie jumped back like she had been scolded. She moved several paces back, putting as much distance between them as quickly as possible to avoid Erica taking advantage again. She could kick herself for allowing herself to be put in the position for that to happen.

"You were leaving" Callie glared at Erica, showing that there was no room for argument here, she wanted Erica gone and gone now.

"I was? I thought we were going somewhere else?" Erica motioned between the two of them with confusion, a slight pout on her lips as she offered Callie a VIP view at her sad eyes, hoping that the brunette would take pity on her and change her mind.

"No Erica, you were going back to your room… and this… whatever you thought was happening, you thought wrong. I'm sorry but I'm not interested in you in any way other than as an employee… now I think you should just go and tomorrow we will carry on as if nothing ever happened, because as far as I am concerned... nothing I am interested in, happened here tonight" Callie pointed to the door to emphasize her point, her posture completely still despite the anger coursing through her.

"Oh come on Cal… you kissed me" Erica threw her a sexy smile mockingly as she stood her ground, mot moving an inch. As far as she was concerned, the night was still young and Arizona's little interruption wouldn't spoil her plans.

"Actually Erica… you took advantage of me whilst I was in an emotional state and you kissed me... you kissed me whiilst I was crying for Christ sake! I didn't want it, I didn't ask for it, I didn't even kiss you back and I'm sorry but I didn't enjoy it either. I'm not sure where you were reading your signs from, but I certainly wasn't giving off any vibes that I wanted you to kiss me, well unless you think a vulnerable crying woman is a sign to make a move... I really don't know how I can be any clearer here Erica… you. And. I. are. Never. Going. To. Happen." Callie offered as she studied the false blonde and waited for any sign that her words were being absorbed and she was going to leave as requested.

"Never say never Cal!" Erica flirted as she took a teasing step closer to the latina who stood her ground as brown eyes sparkled with fire, warning the other woman that to even attempt one more step would be suicide.

"I'm saying it Erica, please hear it... Never!" Callie reiterated. "that woman who just walked out… I love her... like not just love her, I am crazy in love with her and have been for a while now…. So I'm going to need you to get out so I can try and catch up to her and fix this before you have broken it for good"

"Your in love with her? With Arizona?" Erica looked shocked and disgusted and the tiniest bit amused at the bomb that had just been dropped on her. "you know what Cal that's fine… go after her but we both know that your not the relationship type... one day soon you will come running back to me to finish what we started tonight… and you will know exactly where to find me sweetie and I'll be waiting" Erica grinned as she leaned forward too run a teasing hand down Callie's bare arm but faltered when she saw the fire raging behind those normally humorous eyes, she stepped aside to make some distance as a shiver of fear ran up her spine.

"Actually, I won't know where to find you Erica... don't bother coming into work tomorrow. Your position at T.I. is no longer tenable. We will pay you for the rest of the week and next week whilst you arrange alternative living arrangements. Now get the hell out of my apartment before I have security remove you and escort you to your room!" Callie seethed as she stormed across the apartment and opened the door making sure that Erica knew that this discussion was over.

"You'll regret this when you come begging Callie" Erica spat in frustration at being knocked back.

"No I won't actually, what I WILL regret is allowing you to talk your way up here for a nightcap in the first place, now get out before I call security and have you removed from the premises before you even pack your stuff, this conversation is over. Leave!" the second Erica was over the threshold, Callie slammed the door behind her and dived across her apartment to grab her phone, knowing Arizona would already be long gone by now so trying to catch her up was pointless, now she needed to cross her fingers and pray to whatever higher being was on the clock tonight, that Arizona would answer


	28. Chapter 28

A/N - Ummm... are you all still talking to me? or do I need to go back into hiding? Maybe after this chapter I will find to go find a safe room to hide in... sorry not sorry!

I promise the angst will be over VERY soon... two chapters to go and you will all get what you want.

FYI Guests... I have guest review filter on, if you want to abuse me, swear at me and call me any names you can think of, grow a pair of balls, sign up to an account and do it where people can see you doing it with a name rather than hiding behind a guest review, coz all of those reviews get one thing only... DELETE... but thanks for wasting your time by acting like a bum hole! Have a great day you lovely, charming, wonderful troll guests 3 xxx

AL xxx

-oOo-

"Arizona I didn't expect to see you again tonight I thought you would be in the throws of passion with your dirty hot girlfriend right now" Teddy smirked as she swung open her front door to find Arizona pacing on her doorstep after being interrupted from her hot an heavy make out session with her hunky husband, both giddy at the prospect of their upcoming surprise honeymoon.

"Nope… I got there and she was already in the throws with Erica 'Fucking' Hahn instead so I came here to visit you instead!" Arizona scoffed before a sob betrayed her and escaped her lips before she fell into her best friends arms and crumbled.

"Oh Arizona… I'm so sorry sweetie. Come on let's get you inside and into something more comfortable and then we will put the world to rights just the two of us, ok?" Teddy soothed as she half guided and half carried Arizona inside and towards the lounge.

"Henry can you grab me a pair of my yoga pants and one of your tees and a hoodie please" Teddy asked her husband as he appeared to see what the commotion was, he took one look at the sobbing blonde in his wife's arms and left to complete his task before returning quickly with the requested items and eyes full of concern.

"I'm just going back to the bedroom to give you guys some privacy but shout if you need anything. And so you know Arizona… I don't care if she's Callie Torres or a female or whatever, you say the word and I'll go kick her ass all over New York!" Henry smiled when the blonde laughed despite herself, happy that he was able to at least stop her pain for a second or two. He glanced at his wife questioningly and frowned when the honey blonde shook her head sadly.

"Why can't I just find my Henry?" Arizona whined with a pout and Teddy couldn't contain her laughter as Henry blushed slightly.

"You can share my Henry if you want… but be warned… he always leaves the toilet seat up… urgh and he leaves dirty boxers on the bathroom floor every night before bed so you trip over them when you need to pee through the night. Oh and he snores! And farts in his sleep! And trust me, if you saw some of the things he leaves in the toilet sometimes… and the smells that linger" Teddy shuddered dramatically as she threw a teasing wink at her husband who was pouting adorably.

"I love you too Theodora! I'm just going to head into the kitchen and fill your dirty dishes into the dishwasher for you!" Henry deadpanned before walking away and ignoring the mocking dramatic gasp Teddy spat at his retreating back.

"Seriously… you don't want a Henry… boys are messy and dirty and need housetraining! What you need is a Henriette" Teddy grinned as she pulled her friend back into her arms and cradled her as she started sobbing again.

"I can't believe I fell for all that shit Mark fed me… and Carlos! God,I'm such an idiot" Arizona whined as her arms attempted to flail but were semi pinned down by Teddy's embrace.

"Wait… Carlos? What does Carlos have to do with anything?" Teddy furrowed her brows in confusion as her cheek nuzzled against the top of Arizona's head affectionately and she felt Arizona respond instantly as her sobs weakened to more of a pitiful sniffle come whimper.

"After I left you and Mark I ran into Carlos and he literally forced me to sit and listen to this whole speech about what happened since HE decided to pull Tim's center down and why he chose, then he told me about all this stuff that Callie had gotten up to today to piss him off and try and change his mind and then he told me how I've changed Cal for the better and basically told me to go and get her… looks like he was wrong and she hasn't changed at all and is still a... still a... Urgh I can't even say anything mean because I love her and I don't want to say mean things about her even though she deserves it right now!" Arizona sighed petulantly as she grabbed her phone from her clutch after hearing it vibrating only to see Callie's name flashing on the screen. She cancelled the call with gusto and threw the device into her lap angrily, wincing at the pain stinging through her thigh.

"Was that her?" Teddy asked and smiled sadly when her best friend nodded with a fresh wave of tears as she snuggled in closer and held on tighter to Teddy's embrace.

The screen lit up once more, this time providing her with a snap shot of Callie's message which simply read 'SOS 911' causing Arizona to scoff at Callie's gall at using their code word at a time like this.

"Maybe you should just talk to her… she clearly want's to talk to you and maybe there's more to the situation than you realize?" Teddy soothed as Callie's name popped up as she attempted to call again. This time Arizona ignored it and let it go to voicemail as if it wasn't even ringing. She was too hurt and upset to listen to Callies lame excuses.

"There is nothing for her to say Teddy… I don't need to hear her explanation of how Erica's tongue found its way into her mouth" Arizona deadpanned as the pain shot through her heart at the reminder. The image of Callie and Erica kissing coming to the forefront of her mine and making her grimace, she just couldn't force their lips pressed against each others from her mind. It was playing over, taunting her... teasing her... making her stomach turn and her heart throb painfully in her chest as it felt like it was breaking all over again.

"What do you have to lose by hearing her out Arizona? Mark seemed pretty sincere earlier… and it's not like Carlos would lie to you about it either… I'm not saying forgive her or anything… just… maybe hear what she has to say before you condemn her? Because you already heard one side of the story tonight and blamed her and were wrong... maybe, Just maybe this is the same now.. you won't know unless you actually hear her out" Teddy rocked their bodies gently to an unknown rhythm as Arizona continued to sob pitifully into her shoulder as weak whimpers peirced the silence every few seconds.

"No… No, I'm done with her. I know what I saw there is no talking your way around jumping into bed with another woman just because you had a little argument... I can't trust her... FUCK! I can't believe I let myself fall in love with Callie fucking Torres and actually expected to not get my heart broken! I'm so STUPID!" Arizona pouted as fresh tears fell down her cheeks and she buried her face even further into the crook of Teddy's neck in an attempt to hide from the world and all the pain in it.

"No you aren't, please don't say that Arizona. You know I will support you no matter what you decide but I really think you should at least hear her out… why don't we get you out of this dress and then we can order a pizza and work this all out?" Teddy offered and smiled sadly when Arizona simply nodded and stood up to undress where she stood as she wiped at her tears. Teddy helped her, offering sad supportive smiles every time their eyes met, she had never seen her best friend so devastated.

Five minutes later Arizona was comfortably wearing a combination of Teddy's and Henry's clothes and was sitting cross legged on the couch, the pizza was ordered and Arizona glared at her screen as another 'SOS 911' message arrived and she let out a deep sigh as her bottom lip worried between her teeth.

"She seems to really want to talk to you sweetie, are you sure you won't just hear her out?" Teddy tried again, smirking when she saw Arizona's pout elongate like a child.

"She can kiss my ass! That's what Callie Torres can do! I don't want to talk to her Teds! She broke my heart minutes after I even realized it belonged to her, how can I forgive her?" Arizona whined pitifully.

"I'm not saying she deserves your forgiveness, nor that you should just give her it... but we should at least hear her out... look how about this, she's left a few voicemails so how about we listen to those and just see what she has to say for herself and then you can decide… please, for me?" Teddy pleaded and even offered her own pout.

"Why would I do it for you?" Arizona scoffed as she eyed her friend amongst her tears.

"Hey! Arizona Robbins, you walked out in the middle of my wedding, you owe me!" The taller blonde smirked as she saw the other woman's eyes narrow.

"Teddy are you going to hold that over me forever?" Arizona whined as she slapped her best friends fore arm playfully.

"Yup!… now ring your voicemail and lets listen, I want to know what she has to say for herself and I think you need to hear it too" Arizona rolled her eyes as she passed her phone to Teddy, granting her silent permission to do the honors. Teddy dialed the voicemail service and put the phone on speaker.

*Arizona it's me… please pick up I need to explain! Please just let me explain!*

*Arizona please… please stop ignoring me I am begging you to pick up so I can explain, this is all some big misunderstanding and I will explain everything to you if you just pick up. It's not what you think I promise, just let me explain*

*Arizona I know your aware that I'm leaving messages for you! You can't just keep ignoring me… please pick up, please! I refuse to stop trying until you just answer me and let me explain... You have it all wrong Arizona and if you just pick up then I will explain it all to you and if you want nothing to do with me after that then I will respect that and leave you alone... just... just give a chance to explain*

*You know what? This is absolutely ridiculous!You are being a child... you stormed into MY apartment and now your pissed with me for something you have no idea about and you have no right to be, it is none of your business who I do or don't kiss anyway so just grow up and... and... grow up and answer your damn phone Arizona... I'm being seriously, quit pouting and giving me the cold shoulder, i deserve better than this so just answer!*

*I'm sorry Arizona I didn't mean that last message… I'm angry and I'm worried about you please, please, please pick up... just... come on Arizona, just pick up will you! Please!*

*Ok fine you know what Arizona… I'm sick of this! You have no idea how awful today has been for me and now you won't let me even explain AGAIN so I'm going to just tell you and I will have to hope you listen to these voice mails and if not… well the balls in your court and there's not much I can do if your too pig headed and stubborn and rude... yes RUDE Arizona, too rude to let me have my say. For the record... I didn't order for the center to be ripped down… in fact I have been trying to stop it all day! I gave daddy all kinds of hell about it when he told me. I begged and pleaded him. I yelled at him. I even threatened to quit and nothing would change his stupid stubborn mind. I have Alex working late tonight to comb through the contracts to find any single word that could put a stop to it… if you had let me explain all of this earlier then you would already know this, but noooooo Arizona knows best doesn't she! You know my dad and I aren't even talking right now, for the first time in my life I aren't talking with him… I actually... I actually disowned him tonight, I told him if his money is more important than my happiness then he didn't deserve to be called a father because he put his stupid company ahead of me and the woman I'm in love with, YES that's right Arizona I'm in LOVE with you despite you being every single shade of stubborn and you being pig hea..*

*Your stupid voicemail cut me off… what was I saying… oh yes! Pig headed! You're pig headed and you frustrate and infuriate me more than I knew was possible. Today I have gone through hell and instead of showing any form of support or appreciation for my efforts to save your damn center you have cast me aside and villainised me and I don't deserve this crap Arizona! And as for Erica 'Fucking' Hahn… what you walked in on wasn't what you think when you once again jumped to conclusions without letting me even try to explain! She. kissed .me! She took advantage of the fact that I was crying because of YOU, because of how much YOU have hurt ME tonight. And also because of how much my father has hurt me by forcing me to hurt YOU and she gave me a hug to console me and even though it felt wrong because they weren't YOUR arms I was in, I just needed a little bit of comfort for a few minutes and she took advantage of that and kissed me and had you waited like two seconds longer before you walked in, what you WOULD have seen was me pushing her away from me because I'm not interested in her because I'm interested in you, Arizona despite you being a ginormous pain in my ass and being stubborn and frustrating and... and... you know what, right now you don't even deserve my love because you've been a pretty shitty friend today but you still have it because I love you… I love you Arizona and I probably should have told you a long time ago but I didn't because I'm a stup… Mark what are you doing here?... no she came over and fucking Erica kissed me and she walked in before I could push her away and now the stubborn idiot has disappeared and wont answer her phone, why the hell are you here anyway… How the hell do you know where she...*


	29. Chapter 29

A/N - Wowzers, go grab a drink, maybe a snack, get comfortable because this is a long one... and I'm going to say sorry now... you will see :) - AL xxx

"That's the last one" Teddy pointed out despite the phone having just announced that it was playing the final voicemail message, her eyes were trained on Arizona who had tears streaming from her eyes and a pale hand covering her mouth which she had seen drop in shock with a smile. She had waited a long time to see a woman sweep Arizona off her feet, all of Arizona's exe's and dates had been calculated and mundane, like they were set up by Arizona's parents as a suitable match. Arizona deserved more than that, she deserved someone who could listen to her political rants and challenge her on her opinions, someone who took all the serious in the blondes life but added their own dash of humor to even her out, someone who would make Arizona see that there was more to life than JUST architecture, find someone who would push the blonde to live life and make the most of it, and if Teddy wasn't wrong, and Teddy was rarely wrong, Callie Torres was the one who was going to do all of those things and so much more for her best friend. Who the hell would have foreseen that. Callie Torres and Arizona... god she could already think of some golden jokes to add to her maid of honor speech!

"She loves me" Arizona smiled softly as her hand fell exposing her trembling lip which only highlighted her paled ivory flesh and her glassy blue eyes.

"Yes she does… finally you can see what we all saw, you two love each other... like I said Arizona and Callie sitting in a tree K.I.S.S.I.N.G!" Teddy smirked but Arizona remained staring into the distance.

"Erica kissed her… and I walked in at the wrong time and I didn't let her explain… why do I always do that! god I am such an ass! I need to start listening more!" Arizona whined as the doorbell sounded.

"Yes you are and yes you do! And the pizzas here… I'm going to go grab it and you need to call that woman and fix this before it's too late because you two love each other and i personally think if you can fix this you will be the cutest couple, she could be your Henriette!" Arizona was dialing before Teddy had even finished speaking giddily as she backed out of the room and as the dialing tone sounded in her ear, another sound was picked up from the direction Teddy had just walked, it was a ringtone, and a ring tone she recognized.

Jumping from her seat and not caring about the uncoordinated and ill fitting clothes she was wearing whilst her hair was still perfectly styled which mismatched her red and puffy face and bloodshot eyes resulting from all the tears she had cried in the last hour, she chased the sound to it's source and found herself in the hall stopping dead in her tracks as she came face to face with the person she wanted to see most in the world.

"Your here?" Arizona breathed, barely audible but it was heard by the brunette.

"I was hoping we could talk… I can go if you really, really want me to... I know you want nothing to do with me right now, but I had to at least try Arizona, I couldn't live with you thinking that me and Erica… That we..." Callie shook her head in annoyance at herself for being stupid enough to even put herself in that position and in anger at Erica for trying to take advantage of her during a rare moment of weakness.

"I know" Arizona offered with a sad lopsided grin.

"Arizona please just let me... wait, you know?" Callie questioned carefully. Completely unprepared for Arizona to let her speak and agree with her, no she was expecting to have to fight to within an inch of her life just to get Arizona to hear her out and here she was just agreeing with her and smiling at her in that adorable guilty looking way.

"I know… did you, umm, is that... did you steal our pizza?" Arizona asked with a soft smirk as she saw the large box in Callie's hands and glanced at Teddy questioningly.

"Oh I umm… he was arriving when I did so I brought it up for you, sorry... I probably should have just minded my own business" Callie smiled sheepishly as she offered the box toward Teddy who was stood closer to her but was watching both women studiously, her head shifting from side to side as if she were sat front row, courtside at Wimbledon.

"I'm going to just head to bed, why don't you two go in the lounge and talk over the pizza... it's good pizza Callie" Teddy suggested and waited for both women to nod their acceptance. She offered a hopeful and supportive smile to Callie before turning to give her best friend one final hug goodnight, hopefully give her best friend the last hug she would need over a broken heart and Callie Torres.

"Good luck and you know where I am if you need me, just wake me up, kay... and let her speak.. Don't be stubborn and think you know best, just give her a chance?" Teddy whispered as she smiled into the embrace before kissing Arizona's temple affectionately and pulled back.

"Good night ladies" Teddy shot over her shoulder as she made her way down the hall but paused just before disappearing out of sight and turned back to eye the two women who were looking at each other unsurely and decided to help break the ice whilst getting a cheap shot in at her best friend. "you know the rules Arizona! The only person who gets to have sex on my couch is me!"

"Theadora! For fucks sake!" Arizona shrieked in horror as she spun to glare at her friend who winked cheekily and disappeared with a swagger in her hips. Arizona spun back to Callie in embarrassment, ready to apologize only to find the brunette attempting to bite back a laugh, the smirk however had already broken across her face and filled her face right up to her beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

"Do not encourage her Calliope!" Arizona whined with a snap.

"I'm not, I'm not! I'm laughing at your face… I don't think I have even made you blush that much... your incredibly cute when your doing that whole shocked embarrassment face" Callie grinned despite herself.

"I'm not cute" Arizona scoffed with a glare.

"If you say so Arizona but so we are clear, you are definitely cute" Callie smiled shyly and Arizona felt her heart melt. She needed to take a step back here, this was definitely new territory and despite her heart thudding like a racehorse in her chest and butterflies the size of bats fluttering in her stomach, she needed to not let Callie sweep her away in sentiments and flirting, they needed to talk and clear the air first, she needed to decide if she could trust the brunette, whether she even wanted to pursue the feelings she had for Callie. Callie Torres had this immaculate ability to hurt her regardless of whether it was intentional.

"Are you hungry?" Arizona asked nervously and Callie simply shrugged before nodding. Arizona led her through to the small lounge and dropped onto the couch, patting the cushion beside her invitingly as she watched the brunette study the room with a soft smile. Callie took the seat and offered the box to Arizona who opened it and grabbed a slice, throwing it in her mouth without any care of how unladylike it was. Callie watched her for a few moments, just taking in how dressed down and uncaring the blonde was, apart from the hair, this must be what Arizona looked like completely relaxed.

"I didn't sleep with her… Erica I mean. I didn't sleep with her, I didn't even kiss her, she kissed me and of course you just walked in right at the moment she made a pass at me because your Arizona Robbins and your timing is always impeccable and anyway you walked in, right before I had a chance to push her away" Callie confessed as she studied the pizza resting on the blondes lap like it held the answers to the universe. Arizona tore another slice and offered it to Callie who took it with a sad smile before she tore another slice for herself and began to nibble on it nervously as she mulled over Callie's words, if she knew one thing, she DID have impeccable timing.

"I believe you" Arizona nodded her decision. "I know I have said several things tonight that discredit that I do believe you, but I know your no liar Cal. If you say that is how it happened then I believe you… but what umm… what was she even doing there in the first place?" Arizona asked nervously, unsure if she wanted to hear and not wanting to expose her jealousy to the brunette when she knew she had no right to feel jealous.

"Daddy and I had a huge fight at the benefit and I stormed out, I just wanted... I needed to get out of there and get as far away from the shit storm that today has been and while I was waiting for the driver to come with the car, Erica turned up and told me she was heading home because she had an early start tomorrow or something so offered her a lift... I was just trying to be nice, why make her pay for a cab when she was going to the same destination? Anyway when we got back to the hotel she kept hinting about how she would love to see the apartment and how she hadn't seen it yet and now that she was home she didn't feel so tired anymore and that she was thirsty and so I thought what's the harm right in having a drink with a new friend… so I offered her to come up for a nightcap. That was my only intention I swear to you, just a drink between two friends before we went our separate ways for the night..." Callie bore her eyes straight into Arizona's eyes, hoping to convey her honesty.

"Then she kissed you? Just like that, out of the blue?" Arizona asked softly, making sure that there was no trace of judgment or accusation in her voice.

"Kind of. We were talking for a while about the apartment and I got a bit emotional after everything that's happened today… I wasn't even talking to her about it... I mean my private life is none of her business... I think my body just caught up with my mind and I started crying without even realizing I was even crying and the next thing I knew she was hugging me and honestly right in that moment, I just needed that comfort… it wasn't that it was Erica hugging me, I just, you know, I needed a hug Arizona, I needed some comfort while my heart was breaking and my life felt like it was imploding around me... I wasn't expecting her to make a move on me, I mean do you know how many time's you have hugged me and have been able to refrain from kissing me, I thought she would be able to too" Callie shrugged but Arizona could read the strain and tension on the brunettes stunning face.

"Do you still need a hug?" Arizona asked hopefully, smiling when Callie nodded bashfully without even attempting to offer a verbal answer, in that moment when Arizona was about to offer her the comfort she craved more than she had ever craved anything, she knew that her voice would betray her. Without a second thought, Arizona threw her half eaten pizza slice back in the box, closed the lid and tossed the box onto the coffee table before she stood up, wiped her greasy fingers on her yoga pants before she offered her hand out to Callie and motioned her head in a 'come on' fashion. Her eyes ordering Callie not to challenge her on this and to just do as she is told.

Callie took the soft pale hand held in front of her and allowed Arizona to help her stand before being engulfed in the blondes embrace. A sense of complete and utter safety washed over her, she just knew that whilst she was in these arms nothing and no one could hurt her. Arizona would keep her safe and she trusted that fact without any trace of doubt. And as Arizona's arm's tightened around her, pulling her in deeper to the safety and warmth, Callie felt the tension begin to melt away from her every muscle.

Callie inhaled deeply, for the first time since Arizona's outburst at work that morning like she could breathe and her senses were overcome with Arizona's heavenly scent. The slightly tropical but calming scent of the blondes shampoo and conditioner combination and the fruity seductive scent of her perfume which Callie knew to be DKNY's Be Delicious Red, all mixed with her natural scent. It was magnificent and glorious and it overpowered Callie in a way she had never experienced before and she couldn't help but take another long deep breath to allow the scent to invade her again in an attempt to sumbit the scent to memory, should she ever need to recall it.

"Calliope…. Are you... are you sniffing me?" Arizona asked in shocked amusement as her head pressed against Callie's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around the caramel waist that was hidden beneath Callie's exquisite black ball gown that she hadn't even had a chance to take off. Her nose was buried into the crook of Callie's neck and without even trying, her every breath was drawing in the alluring vanilla, honey and coconut scent that was Callie. It was a scent that bathed her in calmness, it was exquisite and delicious and oh so heavenly.

"I umm…" Callie was at a complete loss, she didn't know how to get out of this one, she had been caught red handed, nose deep in golden hair. Instead of fighting and searching for an excuse to cover her tracks she decided to simply be honest, and so she shrugged slightly and smiled when she felt Arizona laugh lightly against her shoulder. The blondes breath washing over her chest and her body shaking in her arms.

"You smell good… if you don't want people sniffing you, I suggest you stop smelling so good" Callie teased with a playful smile on her face.

"People don't generally sniff me Callie… I think your on your own with this one moron" Arizona mocked.

"I can live with that…" Callie trailed off as she realized what she was saying and who she was saying it to, finally, and the reality of that overwhelmed her. She had dreamed of this moment for so many weeks, trying to find the right time to confess her feelings to the blonde at the same time that she had build up the courage to confess her feelings in case the blonde laughed in her face and called her a crazy lady.

"I'm sorry I hurt you today Calliope. I was an asshole and I was way out of line, I should have trusted you more and given you the chance to explain before I yelled at you, instead of assuming wrongly and acting like a monster… I acted with no respect for you...I'm a... I'm a complete ass hat" Arizona grimaced.

"An ass hat?" Callie smirked at the random self insult.

"Yes Callie… an ass hat, problem with that?" Arizona pulled back and glared at the brunette for mocking her at a time like this.

"Yeah I do… you're not an ass hat. I mean sure I'm hurt that you think I would just deceive you like that... like you mean nothing to me and I'm disappointed because I thought you knew me better than that, And honestly I'm pissed at you for some of the hurtful things that you have said to me and about me today… but I don't think you're an ass hat! Or an ass hole for that matter… your just… I dunno, you're a moron Arizona " Callie offered sadly and forced a smile to her face.

"Please stop being nice to me, I don't deserve it Callie" Arizona shook her head and began to pull away from the embrace but Callie held her tighter refusing to lose the physical connection.

"Please don't go yet, just for a few more moments stay here with me because I really needed this right now and I know that's incredibly selfish of me to ask of you… but I needed this, from you, right now…" Callie begged without an ounce of shame and the honesty in her words overpowered Arizona, rendering her speechless. So instead she just nodded and held on tighter, smiling when she felt Callie relax into the embrace, her cheek nuzzling softly against the top side of her head.

"You do deserve it you know? Sure you've been an ass hat today… but you're only human Arizona… despite me seeing some kind of goddess when I look at you, you're not... You're not perfect and you aren't above fucking up sometimes and..."

"Jeez Cal, don't hold back will you!" Arizona scoffed as she slapped Callie's shoulder playfully.

"Arizona let me finish! You're not a goddess your a human and you make mistakes and you say and do the wrong things like every other human does. Just because you made a mistake or two doesn't mean that you don't deserve to be told how amazing you are, it doesn't mean that you don't deserve to be complimented or worshipped… you do deserve those things because you are amazing… your just flawed… like the rest of us" Callie offered in a low voice that was thick with emotion.

"Callie, why did you come here tonight?" Arizona asked nervously. She knew what Mark had told her, and what Carlos had told her, she had even heard Callie say it herself on the voicemail… but she needed for Callie to say it to her in person.

"Because… Arizona I… I couldn't stand a single second of you thinking that I would sleep with Erica" Callie offered and wanted to kick herself for not just coming out right and saying everything what she wanted to say instead of just a tiny part. She was being a chicken so she needed to just suck it up and be the bad ass she normally is, the bad ass that she is with everyone else, until Arizona came along and turned her into putty.

"But why? What's it to me who you sleep with?" Arizona asked as she pulled back to inspect Callie's eyes whilst her arms tightened. She was so scared to see Callie confess her true feelings, she was nervous about what Callie could say to her, but she was also desperate to hear Callie say those words to her.

"I haven't slept with anyone for a long time now… well to some it's probably a remarkably short time, but for someone who is accustomed to hooking up several times a weeks religiously… this is an incredibly long time for me… painfully long, like long enough that it kinda feels like I have taken a vow of celibacy… I feel like a damn nun Arizona! I mean if it wasn't for the wonderful art of self pleasure, I'm pretty certain my virginity would have grown…"

"Calliope… your getting off topic" Arizona scoffed as Callie blushed deeply when she realized what she had been rambling about, she hated Arizona's ability to make her act like a bumbling fool, she hated Arizona's ability to throw her off course and she hated that she loved those things just as much as she hated them.

"Right… thanks… umm what I was... what I was trying to say is that a little while ago I was... I was talking to Mark over a couple of beers and.. and he helped me to... to realize something that had been happening for a long, long time that I... that I didn't understand, and he... he helped me to understand that I was being... being blind... and well since then I haven't been with any... anyone, and Erica wasn't ever going to be the person to put an end to that, regardless of what she says I don't…"

"Wait what… what did she say?" Arizona felt every muscle in Callie's body tense as she brought Erica up and she just know that she needed to ask, hearing the usually so confident brunette stutter and stumble really brought it home to Arizona just how deep Callie's feelings ran, and it shocked her. She knew Callie said she had feelings for her and loved her, and hell even Mark and Carlos had told her the same thing, but to stand here and listen to the vulnerability and nervousness not just laced in that beautiful melodic voice but in every stutter and stumble of words, really hit her in the face like a sledge hammer.

"She umm… she implied that it was only a matter of time before history repeated itself and I got bored of you and sought her out begging for a quickie to get it out of my system... she has a point and..." Callie admitted sadly with a tinge of shame and a lot of sadness "she said something about us both knowing I'm not built to be in a relationship"

"Well that just proves how little she knows you Callie, you will make an amazing partner to anyone who is lucky enough to catch your eye and your heart… all you have to do is watch how you are for just two minutes with Gav and Si and you can see that" Arizona offered a smile, hoping that Callie could hear the honesty coming straight from her heart.

"You really think that?" Callie asked vulnerably, Erica's words were seeping deep into her soul, causing her to doubt her own feelings.

"No Calliope I know it! That is just one tiny example of thousands of why you are capable of loving, of caring about more than just sex, of a quick lay, of why I know that whoever is lucky enough to gain your love will have to work hard for their lifetime to even deserve your love. Your incredible Calliope, breathtaking and mesmerizing and intriguing and hilarious and it takes a lot to get into your heart… but all that effort to gain your trust is so worth it, because one your in here" Arizona moved a hand to lay flat over the top of Callie's heart. "once you've gained that elusive VIP pass to Callie Torres' heart, it is the most amazing place to be and you never want to leave" Arizona smiled softly as a warm tear escaped her right eye and rolled down her cheek only to pool at the crook of Callie's neck.

"Do you… do you mean that" Callie pulled back to inspect cerulean eyes for any trace of deceit.

"I do Calliope. I wish you could just see yourself for just one moment in the eyes that I see you with so you could see all the wonderful things I'm lucky enough to get to see. You're an enigma Calliope, your this beautiful mystery puzzle, but the best thing about you is that once you've got all of the most pieces in the puzzle laid out and you can vividly see the big picture, you don't want to stop finding the final pieces, all you want it to keep going, to find out everything and to bask in it because you are so unique and incredible and addictive and…" Arizona trailed off as she snapped from her dream like speech, her eyes focussing on the brown watery orbs staring deep into her soul.

"I don't want you to think that anything happened with Erica because nothing would ever happen with her… not when... not when I'm in love with... with someone else" Callie confessed with a dry mouth.

"Your in love?" Arizona smiled softly at how nervous Callie was being and it was completely adorable.

"I am… with this incredible woman who is every ounce smart as she is moronic. Every ounce perfect as she is flawed and every ounce godlike as she is mortal. But she is kind and generous. She is principled and moralled. Sweet yet equally terrifying. She is hilarious with this straight laced no shit personality that has everyone she comes into contact with awed and enamored by her. She is graceful yet the biggest dork I know and I'm head over heels in love with her and I have hidden it for months because I don't for a second think that I am worthy of her attention or affection, but it's eating me up inside and I'm not sure how much longer I can hide it... even though I am so completely scared right now" Callie confessed.

"You forgot to mention how beautiful she is" Arizona smirked.

"Oh I did?" Callie scoffed. "Well she is. She is beautiful in every way. But the most beautiful thing about her is her soul. It is so pure and honest. But her face, my god. Her smile renders me breathless, and when she laughs… she gets all these little crease lines which tell me the stories of the happiness she has endured in her life despite surviving some terrible things" Callie smiled softly as she traced her fingers over the flesh to the sides of Arizona's eyes where the laughter lines would show.

"And when she is relaxed and her face is completely peaceful, I have never seen a creature so exquisite and full of beauty, true beauty too… not a forced beauty that is created by make up or beauty procedures… but just, quite simply breathtaking. But she's also modest and would never bring up her own beauty" Callie teased causing Arizona to laugh and as she did Callie's long warm caramel fingers caressed the lines that appeared to the side of her eyes.

"See… just beautiful" Callie whispered as her eyes met Arizona's.

"Callie, I…" the furrow on Arizona's brow caused Callie to panic, she moved her finger to Arizona lips to silence her.

"Arizona, if your about to break my heart… please just let me have a moment longer… because the second you say those words I am never going to be the same again. You know how afraid I am to allow myself to fall in love but with you, I had no choice, there was no say in it and I couldn't stop it. Before I even realized I was falling in love with you, I was already so in love with you and that scares me. With Kara it was different, I saw that I could have more than just occasional sex with her and I went with it knowing it would please my father if I was to settle down. And I did love her, but this… what I feel for you… Arizona, it makes what I felt for Kara feel completely insignificant and non-existent" Callie's eyes were filling with tears as she spoke and it broke Arizona's heart knowing what she was about to do.

"But Callie..."

"Please…. Let me just say this… please Arizona" Callie pleaded with big expressive teary eyes and there was no way Arizona could refuse those gorgeous eyes anything, so she simply nodded and bit her lip.

"When I look at you, I'm overwhelmed by the things that I feel. By the things that only you are capable of making me feel. I feel things that I didn't even know existed in real life. Things that if anyone else spoke to me about, I would laugh in their faces… but you make me feel those things. When I fell in love with Kara I used to imagine what the next year would bring. But with you, I imagine it all without even trying. I can see so clearly what our life together could be. I can see our wedding day, how incredible you would look and how happy we would be… for god's sake I can see our kids and I never even thought about having kids in my life... never even wanted kids, but everytime I see you with the boys, especially with Gav and your both smiling together with your adorable pair's of dimples I can see it all… I can see how beautiful and happy and loved our kids would be. I can see them being the biggest geeks because of you and that damn IQ of your yours but then I can see them making us both prematurely grey by their antics and mischief. I can see them growing up, us standing at the side of school watching them play basketball or maybe hockey or going to dance recitals and plays… their first kisses and first loves. The days they get married and give us beautiful grandchildren. I can see us sat on some big property somewhere outside the city with the NYC skyline in the backdrop and our grandkids cuddled up on our laps on the porch swing listening as we tell them all about how we met and fell in love and all the wonderful adventures we have to come… I see that with you Arizona and it scares the shit out of me, but it also excites me because I want that with you so much it actually hurts to think we may never have it because of whatever you are about to say" Callie felt the hot tears finally escape the confines of her eyes and roll slowly down her caramel cheeks as she stared pleadingly at the blonde.

"And what if we do try and it doesn't work, which it probably won't because this is you and me. I can't be responsible for breaking your heart Callie. Your too important to me. Your heart is too precious to me. I know how broken you were after Kara, so imagine how it would feel when one of us messed this up…. I can't risk doing that to you... I can't be the one to break you Calliope, I just can't and I will at some point because it's what I do, I'm incapable of being in a healthy relationship" Arizona whined as her eyes misted over and her gaze fell to the floor between them.

"And what if that doesn't happen and we get to grow old in each others arms, you can't tell me that standing here like this doesn't feel perfect to you" Callie begged, her heart shattering as she saw the war waging behind those beautiful eyes and across the porcelain like skin.

"it does, it does feel perfect… but Callie… there is too much at stake here and I don't want to lose you from my life and I don't want to hurt you and one day I will because it's what I do, I always mess relationships up, you know that, you know you can't deny that. I always find a way to push people away and make them stop loving me… I can't bear to push you away, I can't bare to do something to stop you from looking at me like I'm worth everything to you" Arizona sobbed, she hated herself for alowing these words to fall from her mouth, but she just needed to say it, she needed to free Callie before she could do her anymore damage, and deep inside her head she knew she would end up hurting the brunette.

"your pushing me away right now" Callie scoffed painfully with the slightest trace of bitterness.

"if I push you away now Callie, it will hurt us both. But if I wait until after we have had our first kiss, first date, first argument... after we have experienced being intimate with each other and making love… once we have had a chance to really see how the future could be with each other in it, it will hurt so much more than if I do it now... it would destroy both of us, can't you just see that, I'm trying to protect us both" Arizona sobbed.

"But I... I love you" Callie pouted as her tears flowed freely.

"Callie I love you too and that's why I am doing this… I may have only realized it recently but I do Callie, I love you and that's why I can't do this. I can't be the one to destroy you… please forgive me Callie, please don't hate me for protecting both of us" Arizona sobbed unable to look into those brown orbs.

"Arizona please… don't do this just give us a shot… it will work, I promise we can make it work" Callie's heart crumbled.

"You can't promise that and we both know it. I think you should go… and I will come in tomorrow as planned to collect my stuff and then I think we should both take a few weeks to get ourselves together and get over these feelings before we try being friends" Arizona couldn't look Callie in the eyes.

"Please don't do this... I can't... Arizona I can't stand the thought of days without you, never mind weeks" Callie sobbed as her fingers tightened around the pale ivory fingers clutching her own.

"I have to do it Callie. To protect both of us" Arizona tried to pull back but Callie's desperate clutch was far too strong.

"No you don't" Callie didn't even care if she sounded like a spoiled child.

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry. Please know that I am, I am so sorry but I think you should go now" eyelids closed to hide bloodshot cerulean eyes from the overbearing pain of this moment.

"I'm not going to make a fool of myself by begging you because I know you think that you are doing the right thing here… but I am going to ask you one last time and then that's it… this is your last chance Arizona, because once I walk out of that door… that's it, you can't take this back after that, please don't make me walk out of that door and away from you… are you sure, are you absolutely sure that this is what you want to do?" Callie pleaded as her fingers took Arizona's chin and forced her to face her.

"I'm sure Callie. Please get home safe" Arizona turned her back to the brunette, unable to watch the woman she loves leave. The second she heard the front door close she fell to the floor sobbing.

"You fucking IDIOT Robbins. What the hell are you thinking!" Teddy scoffed as she crossed the room and engulfed her broken best friend in her arms as the blonde sobbed.

A/N - Ducks for cover and hides! - on the up side, i think you may like the next chapter!


	30. Chapter 30

A/N - Somebody way wiser than me once said that good things come to those who wait... finally chapter 30 is here and I am taking down my fort of protection because your wait is FINALLY over... or is it? nah i'm just teasing... let's get this chapter over with so y'all will stop sending me hate mail!

Yes I know your all frustrated by Arizona, but bare in mind that she recently had her heart broken by her cheating girlfriend... she has reservations because of Callie's sordid past, wouldn't you if you had fallen in love with a serial player? and she is scared of losing the unlikely friend she has found in Callie and is dealing with the very recent realization that those feelings she had been having weren't friendly feelings they were actually loving feelings... that's a lot to deal with on top of her final ties to her brother being ripped from her. Anyone who has dealt with the loss of someone incredibly important to them will understand that sometimes random things that mean nothing to anyone else can mean the world to you. I myself have an iPod which was the last birthday gift my grandmother (my hero, my best friend, my confidant, my soul sister and all around most amazing, admirable and wonderful person you could wish to meet) gave to me and I clutch onto it like a life line, the one time I lost it and thought it had fallen from my pocket on a beach in Western Australia that was a four hour drive in the dark on one of the most dangerous roads in Australia... let me tell you, I was inconsolable and completely lost my mind when I realized it had gone and the fear of never having that link to her that is so precious to me even though in anyone else's eyes is just a stupid little device to listen to music from that's replaceable easily and cheaply... even the memory of those moments breaks my heart. luckily it was found in the jeans that I had taken off prior to the drive... THANK GOD! so for those saying it's JUST a building... that's fine to most it is, but to Arizona it's her tie to Tim, it's all she has left of him and it's extremely important to her, she would rather lose that leg than lose the center!

Anyways, now that's been explained a little better... here we go people. buckle up, grab a glass of wine and a bar of chocolate and let's get started!

AL xxx

-oOo-

"Whoa Torres… you look like shit. Late night making up with lover girl?" Mark grinned cheekily as he eyed his best friend in a power suit with her hair and makeup perfection... but he knew her and he could see the exhaustion written in the creases of her face. He could see the pain in the shade of her iris' behind the swollen, puffy eyelids. He had known her for most of his life, he knew her better than he knew himself, and the second she turned her eyes from the coffee cup to him, he just knew that thing's weren't right in Callie's world, that something was very wrong.

"Nope change of plans, we admitted that we love each other but are going to see how we go with not being in each others lives instead" Callie scoffed as she turned back to the coffee mug and poured her coffee and added a second mug for her best friend.

"Wait… what... what the hell are you talking about?!" Mark frowned.

"Yeah exactly the reaction I had… I poured my heart out, told her everything… she poured her heart out… then she told me we couldn't be together because it would never end well and then asked me to leave" Callie leaned against the counter and closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears not to fall. It had taken her hours today to immaculately apply in order to avoid anyone detecting a trace of the horror the past twenty four hours had been.

"What… and you what... you just left, just like that?" Mark scoffed incrediously.

"What was I meant to do Mark? Kidnap her until she surcummed? Chain her up in my apartment and keep her prisoner? If she doesn't want to be with me then I can't force her to be… I just have to respect her decision and support her while trying not to let anyone realize that she completely broke my heart" Callie turned away from Mark so he wouldn't see the tears welling in her eyes when they met dull bloodshot cerulean eyes standing in the door jamb.

"Hey... I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt. I didn't know you guys were in here" Arizona offered sadly. She had heard every single heart wrenching painful word of Callie's last comment and it completely broke her heart all over again to know she was the sole cause of Callie's pain. The two women looked at each other awkwardly as silence descended them and Mark could only glace between the two women in frustration.

"Oh this is so fucking stupid. Torro you're a fucking idiot, you spend your life fighting everyone and everything just for entertainment and the one time you need to actually fight for something you just give up and roll over..." Mark glared at the brunette who was watching him with bulged eyes and a slack jaw at hearing his little tirade, so unlike him to be so stern and serious.

"And you blondie don't even think you are off the hook here! You are a damn coward! You don't deserve her love right now. All that bullshit about standing up for your beliefs and following your heart… absolute hypocrite. The pair of you are a damn disgrace" and with that Mark stormed from the room, his smile only spreading across his face when he was out of view. Hopefully he had just given the stubborn idiots a bit of food for thought to bring them to their senses.

Arizona and Callie glanced nervously at each other, both still in shock at Mark's words and unsure of what to say or do around each other.

"I'm sorry about him, he had no right to say those things to you, I'll talk to him about it, I promise" Callie sighed as she turned her back to Arizona and played with her coffee cup casually, determined not to let Arizona see her pain and feel guilty about it she knew Arizona was bearing the weight of too much guilt already.

"No really... It's fine, he's... he's right. I am a coward and an idiot and worse I am an ass hat for hurting you" Arizona sighed as she swiped frustratingly at the tears beginning to fall down her ivory cheeks.

"Well you are a moronic ass hat, I will give you that" Callie smirked and Arizona couldn't contain the small laughed that bubbled up from her, it shouldn't surprise her that even when heartbroken Callie still had the ability to make her smile.

"I am… but I hope you know I'm being the biggest moronic ass hat for a very good reason. I know your hurting now but…"

"Arizona it's ok, you explained last night, you don't need to keep apologizing and explaining. I get it and although I don't agree with your decision, I respect you enough to value your position and not push you on your choices. I love you and all I want is for you to be happy, and if being far away from me is what makes you happy then I'm more than willing to take that sacrifice for you. Just… please be happy ok? Don't make me be going through all of this for nothing and don't worry about me.. you know me, I will bounce back and be acting like my normal immature self before you know it" Callie forced a smile on her face wantnig to take away any of Arizona's pain.

"Hey there you are!" Alex grinned as he walked through the door, instantly picking up on the tension in the room and glancing at his friend questioningly who looked like she was crying. "is everything ok in here?"

"Yup everything is fine Alex. I was just going over some last minute things with Arizona before she heads off" Callie smiled at the young legal aid who had become Arizona's wing man since she started. She suspected at some point she would lose him too as he followed Arizona to whatever firm she ended up at, but that was ok if it meant the blonde had a person in her corner looking out for her.

"Oh cool... good, hey Callie while your here those reports on Coney…"

"Not now Alex. Right now we are waving Arizona off. She doesn't need to be bothered by any of that stuff anymore so we will discuss it later" Callie eyes the blonde, seeing her tense at the mention of her beloved community center.

"But…"

"Karev are you deaf? Not NOW!" the tone in Callie's voice told Alex to not argue, he would hold his tongue and explain it later and if Callie was mad he didn't mention it in front of Arizona then that was her own fault.

"Sure thing boss.. everyone is waiting on the main floor for you both" Alex smiled at the blonde.

"Awesome, I'm on my way!" Arizona forced a smile to her friend before glancing back at the brunette and waiting for Alex to go so they could continue their private conversation but Alex didn't budge and so with a sigh and a frown she forced a smile to her face, putting her mask back in place until she could get the hell out of this office and fall apart.

"I guess this is it then big bad Callie Torres!... when we get out there they won't leave me alone for a second to say goodbye to you… so umm look after yourself… yeah?" Arizona tried to hide the emotion in her voice but it cracked regardless.

"Of course I will, you know me I always make sure Callie Torres is taken care of and you know if you ever need anything… it doesn't matter what it is… you call me ok? I'll always be here for you no matter how much time has passed" Callie forced a smile as she bit her lip to control the tears, fully aware of the odd looks Alex was giving them.

"Got it… and the same goes for you, anything you need… just no more sos 911's to help you pick which dress to wear on your hot dates" Arizona smiled sadly as pain flashed through Callie's eyes.

"I promise… now get out there to your adoring fans… I'll be out soon" Callie ordered and watched as Arizona nodded unsurely before walking away, the second Alex had the door closed behind the blonde, her tears fell.

Arizona entered the main body of her floor and was surprised to see how much effort was put in to her farewell. There were decoration's everywhere and practically every office worker from every department in HQ was in attendance, it was not at all what Arizona had expected and it took her breath away.

"Alex what the hell is all this?" Arizona asked when she finally found her voice.

"Ummm… Callie wanted to make sure you knew you would be missed, we did warn her that it was a little extravagant" Alex shrugged. He could see there was something more going on between the blonde and the brunette but now wasn't the time for grilling her about it, not with all the well wishers surrounding them.

"Ms Robbins" Arizona turned to see Mr Torres stood beside a huge cake smiling at her proudly.

"When I told Calliope to find a new chief of staff with an ivy league background, I expected her to find another… shall we say sketchy person, we all know that Callie likes to hire eye candy around the office, but with you she chose well, really well. You have come into Torres Industries and you have helped us make changes that will benefit the company, New York and the citizens of this great city for many, many years to come. Thank you for all your hard work and effort, myself and everyone here wishes you all the luck in the world with your new position... when you finally pick which offer to accept, and it goes without saying that if you ever want to come home to us, just say the word! There will always be a place at T.I. for you" Carlos smiled fondly as he approached the blonde and hugged her tightly she glanced at Alex knowing he would have a suggestive playful smirk on his face but found the place he was previously stood in empty.

She glanced around the room for him but came up empty, Callie wasn't there yet either, but Mark was and he was staring at her with challenging eyes, daring her to walk out of T.I. without fixing things with Callie. Even as the well wishers clamored around her to bid her farewell and good luck, she continued to glance back in his direction only to find him still stood there with that same daring look that was starting to feel so incredibly heavy. Eventually she began to grow incredibly annoyed with Callie's best friend and decided to approach him.

"Not coming to say goodbye to me Sloan?" Arizona asked pointedly.

"Nope" Mark offered with a disinterested shrug.

"Wow I know I'm not your favorite person right now… but that's a little harah don't you think" Arizona scoffed.

"Oh no, you've mistaken my meaning. What I meant was no I'm not saying goodbye because its not needed… I have no doubts that we wont continue to be very active members in each others lives" Mark smirked proudly as he saw the realizing hit Arizona's pain filled eyes.

"Mark don't! I know Cal told you what happened, it's for the best and you know it" Arizona sighed at having to now explain this to Mark as well as Callie... and herself.

"Is it really?… because the way I see it Callie is in love with you… and you are in love with her and the pair of you have been in love with each other for a long time and both of you have been refusing to accept or acknowledge it… but see here's the thing… you both know it now and there is no way you two idiots will stay away from each other. Do you think I haven't noticed you scanning the room since the minute you walked in here looking for her. She's in a meeting with her dad by the way. You don't fool me Robbins… you may fool yourself and you may fool Cal… but your not fooling me and it's only a matter of time before you realize that your making the wrong call and have to come running back begging for forgiveness… the question is, how long is that going to take and how much are you prepared to break Callie while you pretend that it's not going to happen between you and her, because we both know that she isn't as emotionally strong as she makes out, do you really want to be responsible for destroying her just because your too scared to give it a shot? Don't be a such a fucking coward Robbins!" Mark warned before leaving the blonde deep in thought.

"There you are" Alex smirked as he approached his friend with a smile before the corners of his lips turned down at the confusion in Arizona's eyes before she pulled her mask firmly back in place.

"Hey Alex… where did you disappear to?" Arizona asked before clearing her throat to rid herself of the obvious emotion.

"Oh I had some reports to run over with Callie that couldn't wait. Nothing for you to worry about… so… are you still glad that your leaving, coz you know now that Hahn's gone your job is back up for grabs" Alex smirked hopefully.

"Wait… what? Hahn's gone?" Arizona looked as surprised as she felt. Why hadn't Callie told her that Hahn wasn't coming back.

"Yup. Word around the office is Callie fired her sorry ass last night. Something about Hahn trying it on and not taking no for an answer so Callie had to let her go. There has been mention of her being banned from the building and security being on high alert due to her being a stalker risk" Alex wriggled his eyebrows at the juicy gossip he knew his friend would be more interested in that she would let on.

"I didn't know… wow! That's certainly a shocking development!" Arizona pouted in confusion.

"Excuse me. If I could just have everyone's attention for a few moments" Arizona spun at the sound of Callie's voice, feeling herself instantly relax at the sight of the woman she loved, she had no idea just how she was going to be able to go without seeing this woman every single day.

"Now we all know why we are here, my fight to stop Arizona from leaving us all is lost and we have to say goodbye. Before we do that though there is a few things I would like to say and I hope Arizona won't mind me gate crashing her big day" Callie threw an apologetic smile at Arizona before glancing around the room and taking a deep breath in an attempt to swallow down her nerves.

"I know there are a lot of rumors circulating about Arizona's replacement, Erica, not showing up for work today. To clear things up, Erica and I had an altercation last night where by Erica made it abundantly clear to myself that her intentions were not to the company but were in fact to me… feelings which weren't reciprocated. Now I'm sure your all aware that in the past I have been… well, there's no diplomatic way to say this and you all know anyway so let's just call a goose a goose, I've been pretty lax with sleeping around with my staff, I've also made a habit of hiring people likely to sleep with me over people qualifi…."

"Calliope enough!" Carlos bellowed as he entered the large open office looking older than Arizona had ever seen him.

"Oh Mr Torres, you're here just at the right time, we were just getting to the good bit!" Callie smirked and raised a challenging eyebrow at her father.

"Yes well if you don't mind, I have an announcement of my own to make, I'm sure your little announcement can wait" Carlos asked his daughter with a slight glare, completely disbelieving that she was push his hand like this.

"Of course Daddy, I'm sure whatever your announcement is could impact my own announcement anyway… so why don't you go right ahead" Callie motioned with her hand for father to take her place before she moved to stand next to Mark who was eyeing her suspiciously but she simply smiled a shit eating grin at him before motioning for Mark to pay attention to what her father was about to say.

"I know I have already made my speech, but I would like to say something else. You all may be aware of some developments with the Coney Towers project and the community center being demolished in order to generate higher profit margins. I have brokered a deal with my daughter in order to stop this from happening, she has made it clear to me that T.I. made a promise to keep the Coney Island Community Center and all of it's patrons and it would be morally wrong of us to break that promise. However due to the permits having already been signed and sealed wit the changes, there will be some extra work for our legal department as well as for the rest of us, but I am proud to announce that although there can no longer be a Coney Island Community Center… we will be saving the original building however it will require a slight name change, I assume that is acceptable Ms Robbins?" Carlos smiled towards Arizona as she cried openly at the news and nodded her acceptance, unable to form any words from the shock that was washing over her.

"Very well… in that case I would like to announce the amendment to the project 'Coney Towers' to 'Coney Towers and Timothy Robbins Memorial Center" Carlos glanced at his shocked daughter with a knowing smile and winked at her.

Callie couldn't believe her ears, she had just had the argument of her life with her father where she had told him explicitly that she was quitting regardless of the fines from breaking her contract. She wouldn't be part of a heartless company that couldn't be trusted. Carlos had completely lost his shit and had refused to allow her to be released from her contract before demanding to know why the center was so damn important. When Callie had explained the ties between the center, Arizona and her late brother, it had touched Carlos but not enough to change his mind.

It was at that point Callie had declared she had a farewell speech to make and advised her father to get someone from legal to be on hand because T.I. were about to have one hell of a sexual harassment scandal, not to mention being investigated for breaching the government regulations surrounding fair and equal employment opportunities before Callie had stormed out of the room with a purpose.

"Did you know?" Callie was pulled from her musings by Arizona's voice beside her and she shook her head.

"Not about the renaming, I had nothing to do with it I swear, I can get him to change it though" Callie offered, smiling when Arizona shook her head and fell into her arms sobbing.

"You may not have done it outright… but there's only one way he could know about Tim… thank you Calliope, I will never be able to tell you how much this means to me, what it will mean to my parents! Thank you!" Arizona sobbed as she clung tighter to the brunette who simply held her, savoring this moment because she knew all too soon it would come to an end.

"Hey calm down drama queen your making a scene" Mark rubbed her back affectionately before glaring at the gawping crowd who quickly faked looked away.

"No thanks needed. I made a promise to you and I would do anything to keep that promise, even if it meant bankrupting TI, my father and myself… I made a promise and I would move heaven and hell to keep it for you" Callie smiled softly into Arizona's hair.

"Calliope I believe you were in the middle of an announcement" Carlos prodded carefully with a straight face, unwilling to show his daughter any hint of a smile until she had fixed the mess she was about to unload and this entire mess was swept under the carpet.

"Oh sure thing Daddy" Callie smiled as she pulled away from Arizona's embrace and rubbed her forearms softly before kissing her father's cheek as she passed him. "I knew you would come around to my way of thinking eventually… thank you Daddy!"

"Don't thank me, the funds it costs to keep it are coming out of your private account, even if it means your selling shares back to me!" Carlos warned in a whisper.

"Agreed, whatever it takes!" Callie smiled happily and her father couldn't help but shake his head in wonder at his daughter's antics.

"Right as I was saying before Daddy rudely interrupted me… it's no secret that I have enjoyed a bit of eye candy around the office but let's be clear that I have always employed the person who at the time I felt was the best fit for T.I. and the position advertised, they just happened to always be good looking women…. And that wasn't any different from when I extended the offer of employment to Arizona. I think she has single handedly proved my point that an attractive woman can also be clever, ingenious, inventive and irreplaceable, so I take all those office jokes about how I only hire hot bimbos and I throw it back in your faces, because now that we have had an Arizona Robbins, we will never find anyone who is capable of filling her shoes." Callie winked at her father who was watching her in amazement at how she managed to dig herself… and T.I. out of that huge hole she had put them in just twenty minutes earlier.

"Arizona… there are too many things that I could say to you, but there are only two important ones that really matter, the first is that where ever you end up, they will be damn lucky to have you and they had better show more appreciation to you than I ever did and the second is that you will be missed by everyone, but by no one will miss you as much as me. Just knowing that your bright smile and perky attitude will no longer be floating around the office saddens me to no ends." Callie glanced at the floor and blinked her eyes hard to try and force back the tears welling painfully.

"Thank you for everything Arizona, you have turned out to be an outstanding employee, a wonderful colleague, a trustworthy confidant, a ruthless asskicker and an irreplaceable friend. I wish you all the luck in the world for your future and I hope you find your happiness, if anyone deserves it, it's you so umm good luck" without even looking at anyone, Callie walked straight to the toilets, not even realizing the room was in silence watching her intently, every single eye watching her including a pair of cerulean.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N - so funny story... I mixed my chapters up and thought what happens below happened in chapter 30... so as a special treat, I present to you chapter 31... the actual chapter youve all been waiting for! I was reading the reviews and wondering why nobody was excited... that would be because you hadnt read what I thought you had haha WHOOPS!

Here you go people, I hope you have some wine and chocolate left!

ALxxx

-oOo-

Arizona glanced around the room and saw all eyes on her including a pair of steel grey belonging to Mark who was giving her a 'what are you waiting for you idiot' look. With that she took off to follow Callie ignoring the smiles erupting on all of the faces watching her intently.

She entered the bathroom to find Callie stood in front of the mirror drying her eyes on a tissue. Callie looked up at the sound of the door behind her and brown met blue through the reflective glass, both women offering each other a sad smile.

"It's ok Arizona, go and enjoy your party. I'll be ok" Callie offered with forced effort as her eyes fell to stare at the floor tiles.

"But what if I don't want to go?" Arizona asked nervously and smiled when Callie's water logged eyes rose to her full of confusion and her heart broke all over again, she was the sole cause of the pain.

"Huh… what do you mean… the jobs yours if you want it, you know that already" Callie offered shakily.

"I don't mean the stupid job Calliope… I mean the girl… what if I have been a ginormous moronic ass hat and in trying to protect us both have inadvertently hurt us both… what if I'm an asshole and I want to apologize… and maybe ask if your busy tonight or if you would maybe like to go out to dinner with me… on a date… with me" Arizona smiled softly as the surprise in Callie's eyes as she tried to ignore the feeling of her heart hammering in her chest.

"I umm… sorry, I'm washing my hair tonight, can we rain check?" Callie smirked as Arizona rolled her eye and scoffed. Only Callie would make a joke at a time like this, and it made Arizona's heart melt because it was just so Callie.

"No more rain checks Callie… I don't want to fight this anymore, Mark was right when he said I wouldn't be able to fight it forever so what's the point in trying? I don't know if it will work, I don't know where we will end up… but I do know that I want to try and I want to take that journey with you… so come to dinner with me tonight, let me take you on a date and woo you" Arizona pleaded.

"Woo me? It's not the 1930's you know" Callie grinned as Arizona took a step closer to her, Callie turned around so she was looking at her fully and not the blondes reflection.

"I don't care what year it is, time doesn't seem to matter when I'm in your presence anyway! I want to woo you… are you deliberately not answering me about dinner tonight as payback for the last twenty four hours?" Arizona raised her eyebrow suspiciously, shaking her head in exasperation when Callie just smirked and offered no words.

"You're an ass hat Calliope" Arizona scoffed before taking another step closer.

"I'm your ass hat though Arizona, always... whether you want me to be or not. Since the moment you walked up to me on the street in that stupid grey cardigan, I've been hooked on you" Callie confessed bashfully.

"What's wrong with my grey cardigan?" Arizona laughed as she took a few more steps up till she was toe to toe with the taller brunette.

"Nothing, it's just so you… so, what exactly does wooing entail, I've never been wooed before" Callie asked as she felt Arizona's fingers wrap around her own as their hands entwined.

"I don't want to spoil the surprise for you… but I think you'll like it" Arizona smiled as she leaned up on her tip toes till she was closer to Callie's height. "I'm going to kiss you now" Arizona confidently whispered, waiting to see if Callie would pull away, but all she saw was a sense of relief wash over the beautiful caramel face just centimeters away from her own.

"Thank god, I've only been waiting for this moment for like seven months" Callie whispered as she eased forward to meet Arizona. Their lips finally colliding as their eyes lids sealed shut and both women felt that little spark of electricity shoot through them. After a few seconds their heads instinctively tilted to the right as their lips parted slightly. Neither woman needing to request entrance because for once they both felt equal to the other person. They were in this together and both knew exactly what they both wanted and needed, there was no need for words or signs or hints, they both just lost themselves in the moment and existed as one as their tongues met in a tentative beautiful dance.

Callie moaned into the kiss, it was the softest, sweetest kiss she had ever experienced, there was absolutely nothing sexual or leading with it, something she had never before experienced, the eroticism was removed and in its place was promise. Callie's hands raised up to two pale cheeks as she cradled Arizona's face in her hands, pulling back slightly to place several pecks against Arizona's lips whilst her nose affectionately rubbed against Callie's.

"Wow" Arizona smirked with her eyes still shut, her hands against Callie's hips as she held herself upright, her legs threatening to weaken from the pure explosion of emotions the kiss had released.

"Best. First kiss. Ever!" Callie whispered against those lips that she already knew she was addicted to.

"I agree a hundred percent… your an incredible kisser" Arizona smiled as she finally opened her eyes and fell into the chocolate eyes smiling back at her.

"I've had a lot of practice" Callie smiled sweetly, shrieking when Arizona slapped her arm playfully.

"Way to spoil the moment moron. Let's not discuss how much practice we have had in the past ok?" Arizona joked, she knew eventually they would need to have some discussions, but for now she was content to just enjoy the moment, she knew all about Callie's past, Callie had never hidden anything from her. But it was just that. The past.

"I'm sorry… but I want you to know something… no one has ever caught my attention the way you have. No one has ever invaded my mind and senses that way you do. No one has ever understood me and made me feel like the way I do when I'm with you. And I'm sure as hell that nobody has ever looked at me or kissed me the way you just have. I know I have a bit of a sordid past and I can't change that, and I'm not sure I would want to in case it changed destiny's projectory and meant that this moment right here with you wasn't happening… but I want you to be my last. My one and only. I'm not the person I was I year ago, you've changed me in so many ways without even trying to, and they were all good changes… I know it's early days and I know we have a lot to talk about and work out… but I'm in this Arizona… I'm completely in this. I'm committed to you and you alone and I want this more than anything I have ever wanted before… and I will try so hard not to let you down" Callie confessed as she studied their joined hands shyly.

"What was it you said earlier about only being human? We're both going to make mistakes Callie... just... what's important is that we value and respect each other and are honest with each other. I beg you though, if you ever feel like I'm not enough and you need more, please don't just cheat on me like everyone else has, please respect me enough to walk away first" Arizona asked vulnerably.

"Hey… look at me. Right here right now I am looking at you and I am promising you that I will never ever cheat on you. I can't promise there won't be temptations for either of us. I can't promise that there won't be moments my mind wanders and I don't have to kick my own ass. I can't even promise that on the odd occasion I will do a bit of harmless flirting… but I love you, like I really love, to a point where it's almost embarrassing… I haven't cheated on you since I realized I was in love with you and we weren't even together, you know why? Because I respect and value you and my feelings for you too much. I promise that won't change… but if it ever does I swear to you I will talk to you. I know I haven't exactly got a past that invokes trust, but I want you to trust me and I will work on doing everything I can for you to keep that trust in me and I hope one day trusting me comes as natural to you as breathing" Callie offered just as vulnerable.

"And I promise you the same. I will never hurt you that way Callie. I will never hurt you the way Kara did, I swear and I will do anything and everything to earn your trust regardless of how long it takes and so we are clear, if I catch you harmlessly flirting with anyone I will harmlessly rip their head off before throwing it at you, understood?" Arizona challenged.

"Got it… no flirting, harmless or not" Callie scoffed as she squeezed the pale hands, showing Arizona that despite her laughing she was taking her seriously.

"Good girl… save all your flirting for me" Arizona smirked.

"I'll save everything for you" Callie smiled sweetly.

"Even better" Arizona whispered before capturing Callie's lips almost possessively.

"As much as I am loving this moment, we should probably get back out there" Callie sighed dramatically after their kiss had come to it's natural end and Arizona was smiling dreamily at her.

"Yeah your right. But dinner tonight right? I'll pick you up at six? Dress casually… do you know how much I love your casual look" Arizona grinned flirtily.

"I actually do… your not very subtle when your checking me out" Callie smirked.

"I am too… you have no idea how many times I've checked you out" Arizona scoffed.

"You have no idea how many times I have caught you checking me out and kept my mouth shut to not embarrass you" Callie winked suggestively.

"Then why did you never say anything?" Arizona asked with a slightly furrowed brow.

"Because I love how it feels when your eyes run over my body appreciatively taking in every detail and committing it to memory. I love seeing the way you suck your bottom lip into your mouth before biting it, and the way your eyes turn into this turquoise color. I love knowing that im the cause of that and I don't want it to stop so I just kept quiet and enjoyed it whenever I could" Callie admitted and was rewarded with another sweet kiss.

"I can't believe I was that obvious" Arizona laughed as the kiss broke.

"Your very obvious sometimes…. Like every time I wear that charcoal pencil skirt with the cream blouse…" Callie smirked as Arizona blushed slightly and her dazed eyes began to turn turquoise. "I swear sometimes I actually thought you were going to act on whatever dirty thoughts were going through your mind"

"I was not having dirty thoughts" Arizona scoffed.

"Oh please… I could see it in your eyes every time I wore it. Why do you think I wore it so often… I actually have two of those skirts and three of those blouses just incase anything ever happened to one so I would always have a backup for you" Callie admitted with a teasing smirk.

"See this is why I love you, your not just a pretty face" Arizona teased.

"I love you too" Callie smiled shyly.

"Ok fine… I had dirty thought about you in that skirt and blouse, but I'm not sharing what those thoughts were so don't bother asking" Arizona rolled her eyes as shit eating grin spread across Callie's face.

"Hmmm... I'll get it out of you one day" Calie offered up a sweet teasing kiss and grinned when Arizona melted into her.

"God I am really gonna miss watching your ass floating around the office in that skirt" Arizona sighed sadly.

"Hey… you get to see this ass in whatever you want, whenever you want… it's one of the perks of being my girlfriend" Callie smirked before blushing when she realized what she had said and how forward it was when they hadn't even discussed how to label what they were, and Arizona couldn't believe just how adorable the brunette was.

"Well girlfriend! let me ask this… what if I want to see your ass in nothing whenever I want?" Arizona raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"Well… actually… would you be offended if I asked if we could take this slow? I mean I know I'm crazy in love with you already, and I trust that you mean it when you tell me that you love me but I don't want to rush this… I want to take my time getting to know you as more than a friend and colleague and I want to experience everything with you in the right time, not just jump straight into it with you… do you think that would be ok?" Callie asked shyly.

"More than ok, I actually really like the sound of that… but so we are clear, I'm not stopping kissing you... no way... Nu huh" Arizona reiterated her demand with a kiss that left Callie reeling.

"Trust me, there are no arguments here on that" Callie grinned.

"Blondie… Torro… people are getting restless waiting out there and there a lot of theories circulating about what's happening in here right now!" Mark smirked as he eyed the embrace the two women were in after closing the door behind him. "finally! Please tell me this is what it looks like?!"

Callie and Arizona glanced at each other with a smirk before Arizona nodded her approval to Callie, this was her best friend and she didn't want the brunette to feel like she had to hide anything from him. There is no way she would be hiding this development from Teddy, not if she wanted to live to enjoy their budding relationship because Teddy would certainly kill her if she kept it a secret from her.

"Mark, I'd like you to meet my girlfriend Arizona" Callie smiled proudly.

"About damn time! I thought I was going to have to lock you both in a damn room until you succumbed to each other!" Mark shrieked before rushing to the two women and hugging them at the same time in one giant group hug.

"You know…." Mark pulled back thoughfully, flinching when Callie slapped him on the back of his head.

"Bad mark! NO!" Callie scoffed as she pointed at him and wiggled her finger like she was talking to a dog.

"You don't even know what I was going to say" Mark pouted as he rubbed the now tender spot on the back of his head.

"Fine say it, but I swear if it has anything to do with a threesome, I'm kicking you in the balls" Callie said pointedly, her eyebrow raised in challenge.

"Fine! Nevermind!" Mark sighed dramatically.

"Oh and on the topic…" Arizona mused which caught both of her companions attention, Mark looking excited and Callie looking appalled and Arizona couldn't help but laugh at the polar opposite expressions.

"Mark… no, never going to happen anywhere but in your sick head! Callie I'm gold star don't worry!" Arizona scoffed, laughing harder at the relief that instantly washed over Callie's face. "as I was saying… on the topic, you two idiot's may discuss and share 'EVERYTHING' but If I catch wind of my sex life being discussed I will not be amused" Arizona warned as she squinted her eyes at Callie.

"Spoilsport!" Mark winked.

"Got it" Callie smiled softly.

"Oh! She's got you pussy whipped already! What the hell Robbins, what did you do to my best friend? Give her balls back right now!" Mark whined playfully.

"I didn't do anything yet" Arizona smirked with a suggestive wink to Callie before exiting the bathroom and leaving the two best friends to it.

"You've got your hands full with that one" Mark smirked as he wrapped his arm affectionately around Callie's shoulder and gave her a side hug.

"Your telling me!" Callie mocked as she lay her head on Mark's shoulder affectionately.

"Well played with your dad by the way, when you started hinting about hiring women just to sleep with them I thought he was going to have a heart attack on the spot" Mark scoffed.

"I know right… I can't believe I had to stoop that low to actually force his hand with this… at least now I know I have that ace up my sleeve" Callie grinned.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N - I dedicate this chapter to the lovely reviewer Cindy... thanks for your kind words and you patience love. this one's just for you :)

AL xxx

-oOo-

Callie and Mark exited the ladies bathroom and Callie's eyes instantly scanned the room for her girlfriend, smiling when she found her hugging her father. God she loved that... her girlfriend. Arizona Robbins was her girlfriend. Her girlfriend was Arizona Robbins! Callie Torres and her girlfriend Arizona Robbins. A huge smile spread across her face as the thoughts ran through her mind.

"I'm surprised he's not murdering her after all the drama she caused between you two. I saw him when he got in this morning , I'm pretty sure Esme made him sleep on the couch" Mark warned as he followed Callie's eye line and found the blonde laughing with his adoptive father.

"Hah… he is the one who caused all the drama and after the bollocking he got last night and then this morning I can safely say he knows it. Anyway he likes Arizona and he respects her personally and professionally… to him it was just business, he didn't look at it as having anything to do with Arizona… anyways I don't think he would dare say anything bad to her or even dare treat her badly now that he knows how important she is to me" Callie winked at her best friend.

"I like this smile your wearing… it suits you" Mark smirked as he grabbed Callie's cheeks like an old woman does to a child, laughing when Callie tried to fight him off.

"Quit it asshole!" Callie laughed as she continued to slap at his hands as they struggled to pinch her cheeks.

"You love it! I missed seeing you happy Cal" Mark whispered.

"Are you implying that I am normally a sour faced miserable bitch?" Callie scoffed.

"Got it in one" Mark laughed as Callie made to slap his shoulder but he dodged in time to avoid her only to knock against a desk and knocked a stack of files to the floor. He glanced up guiltily and smiled apologetically to the owner of the desk who was throwing daggers at him.

"Ladies and gentlemen…. Mark and Callie! if I could have your attention please" everyone laughed as they looked at Callie who was in the process of trying to grab the back of Mark's boxers to give him a wedgie as Mark tried to fight her off with the stack of files he had just retrieved from the floor. Upon hearing Arizona's interruption and realizing everyone was watching them, they quickly straightened up and tried to act like mature, professional adults but no one bought it and only laughed harder.

"It's your fault" Callie whispered with a smirk as people began turning their attention back to Arizona.

"Ha suck it Torro" Mark scoffed as he nudged her with his elbow.

"Don't let my girlfriend hear you propositioning me like that, she will rip it off and make you suck it yourself" Callie scoffed and glanced at Mark who looked a little pale and unsure of whether the threat was a joke before he looked to Arizona who winked at him before glancing to Callie questioningly when Mark looked ready to throw up, the interaction doing nothing but causing Callie to guffaw loudly, once again gaining everyone's attention.

"Ok so if the children are finished playing I just wanted to say a few things. First I want to thank you all for this little party, it's really appreciated and I know that your all just happy to be getting paid to stand around and gossip for an hour… or two as the case may be. I would like to also thank Carlos for his earlier speeches and for the tribute to my late brother, I know it means everything to me and when my parents find out it will mean everything to them too" Arizona smiled at Carlos who winked in return.

"I'd also like to thank Callie for her wonderful words earlier however, as T.I.'s new chief counsel you can bet your last dollar that we will be having words about these rumors over your hiring practices next week!" Arizona smirked at the brunette who was smiling dreamily, clearly Arizona's announcement hadn't registered with her yet, which just amused to blonde more.

"I just had a discussion with Mr Torres who has been very gracious and has agreed to allow me to stay on at T.I. … after all the love I have felt today from the many, many wonderful people who make up the T.I. family, there really is no other company I would want to work for and I think that there is a lot more for us all to achieve here. So I appreciate the leaving party… but your all stuck with me so I guess what I am staying is, Thank you for the welcome party!" Arizona glanced around the room at all the pleasantly surprised faces before turning her gaze back to her girlfriend who was now looking confused and staring questioningly at her father.

Arizona made her way over to Carlos to thank him again for taking her back considering everything.

"Wait… your not quitting?" Callie asked as she approached them and glanced between her father's face and her girlfriends face.

"Nope" Arizona smirked, enjoying watching Callie's head flicking around.

"So your staying?" Callie asked dumbly, her head still moving to stare at the other two people quickly, if she didn't stop that soon, she would be suffering from a repetitive strain injury.

"Generally when someone doesn't quit it's because they are staying Calliope… did you hit your head on something Mija?" Carlos smirked, he could tell that the two women had sorted out their differences before either of them had to announce it to him. He didn't want to ever know what went on in that bathroom, but for whatever it was, he thanked god.

"Funny daddy! So just like that your letting her come back?" Callie eyed her dad suspiciously, glancing at Arizona when she snorted in amusement.

"I can fire her if you'd prefer?" Carlos scoffed, winking at Arizona to show he was joking.

"Nah she can stick around I guess. You know I prefer having some eye candy around the office" Callie smirked at her father before winking at Arizona who was shaking her head in amusement, Callie really had a way with words.

"Oh by the way Daddy. I'm finishing up early today. I have a hot date tonight so I'll see you on Sunday when I pick the boys up" Callie smiled sweetly.

"Fine! But Monday morning you and I are finishing our earlier conversation. And you had better enjoy your date tonight because your going to be skint and busier than usual for a while" Carlos warned and Callie shrugged with disinterest.

"Yeah, yeah whatever… wait… your not going to make me give up the car service are you?" Callie asked with a gasp, the worry quickly setting in.

"No Calliope you need the car for business purposes!" Carlos scoffed at the way his daughters mind worked.

"Oh that's good!… well in that case so we are on the same page, my membership to the spa is for business too" Callie flashed her billion dollar smile to her father hopefully, reminding him of why he should not take it off of her.

"Don't push it Mija!" Carlos deadpanned.

"Actually, as she is the face of T.I. and her face is insured by the company, its part of the contract that she keeps up with her appointments, especially the treatments which are done on a regular basis to keep on top of them, otherwise T.I. would be breaching her contract which would leave T.I. open to Calliope suing us" Arizona offered with a sheepish smile, unsure of what was going on between the father and daughter but knowing how much Callie loves her spa days and how insufferable she would be without them.

"See… I didn't I tell you she was awesome! Aren't you glad you rehired her!" Callie smirked at her father's shocked face. "thanks baby" Callie grinned, her smile widening at the dimples that appeared when Arizona heard the term of endearment slip from Callie's slips so naturally.

"Oh good god! What have I let myself in for. I'm adding a new clause to your contract. You can't side with her over me!" Carlos teased, instantly picking up on the 'baby' and a smile breaking across his face.

"Don't worry Daddy…it's JUST business!" Callie scoffed as she threw her father's own words at him.

"You!" Carlos pointed a stubby finger at his daughter "are a smart ass! And you…" Carlos moved his pointed finger in Arizona's direction "need all the luck you can get to put up with her. Please try not to kill her, she's a pain in the ass but we do love having her around" Carlos teased.

"I'll try my best sir, no promises though" Arizona scoffed as Callie pouted as her girlfriend and father teamed up on her.

"Mija, seven am, my office do not be a second late and leave your smart ass attitude at home" Carlos reminded before leaving the two women alone. Arizona looked to Callie who was smiling shyly at her.

"Care to explain what all of that was about?" Arizona raised her eyebrow.

"Lets just say I owe my dad a few million and leave it at that" Callie rolled her eyes.

"From last night?" Arizona groaned and Callie found something interesting in her hands and stared hard at it. "Calliope you know I will find out anyway right… you may as well just admit it now" Arizona teased.

"Ok fine" Callie pouted and looked up to the cerulean eyes watching her intently. "yes from yesterday… he wasn't very happy that I charged just under a hundred mill to my company card to make a point. Nor was he happy when he received the bar tab I paid with compliments to his good friend Donald Trump. However in order to save the community center I had to agree to cover the costs to fix up the contracts and permit changes, as well as cover the estimated profit differences to be lost from my personal account" Callie smirked sheepishly as she wrapped her pinky finger subtly around Arizona's subtly and tugged on it.

"Oh baby I'm so sorry" Arizona frowned, not even realizing that she too had adopted Callie's turn of endearment.

"Hey don't… you didn't ask me to do anything, I did it all off my own back, it's my fault. Anyway it's only money who cares, as long as you get to keep your community center then it's worth every single cent" Callie smiled reassuringly.

"Well your also forgetting that it will go a long way with stopping my parents from hating you" Arizona smirked.

"Oh god I forgot your parents hate me… now they will hate me even more for convincing you to be my girlfriend" Callie whined.

"It's a good job someone once told me to stop picking my partners to please my parents then, isn't it?" Arizona scoffed but Callie wasn't as amused. "hey… they don't know you Calliope, not like I do… it will take some time but eventually they will see all the wonderful and amazing things that I see and they will love you too… until then, well you may want to wear a stab vest whenever we see them" Arizona smiled affectionately.

"The stab vest WAS a joke right?" Callie questioned nervously making Arizona giggle. The sound warming Callie's heart.

"Yes sweetie… neither of my parents would stab you… they may give you a hard time for a while and put you through your paces but you won me over and I'm far more opinionated and stubborn than them… they'll be a breeze compared to me" Arizona offered with a supportive smile.

"Would it be strange if we just lived separate lives… like I can have you Monday to Saturday, and they can have you on Sundays and maybe every second Wednesday night for dinner?" Callie mused mischievously.

"Hah are you suggesting that you want to enter a custody agreement with my parents?" Arizona scoffed.

"If It means I don't have to wear a stab vest then it can't be that absurd of a suggestion, right?" Callie smiled hopefully.

"Calliope I love my parents and I don't want to have to separate our lives, they WILL come around with a bit of time but until then can you please just try, I know they aren't easy, especially my dad, and I know they are going to give you a hard time… but it's really important to me" Arizona pleaded with big sad eyes.

"Fine… only for you… but I expect to be rewarded for good behavior!" Callie pouted.

Deal! You drive a hard bargain Ms Torres" Arizona smirked as she leaned onto her tip toes and in towards Callie's alluring lips.

"Let's be honest Ms Robbins, we both know that you have me wrapped around your little finger and can make me do whatever you want, whenever you want it" Callie smiled sweetly.

"I'll remember that for future reference" Arizona teased right before her lips pressed against plump red ones.

"Really subtle… you lasted a whole half an hour before slipping up in front of the entire HQ" Mark mocked when the two women broke their kiss. They glanced at him questioningly before noticing all eyes on them and glanced at the faces surrounding them with slacked jaws and wide eyes at the front row show they had just received to the latest gossip.

"Uhhhhmmmm…" Was all that Callie could force out of her mouth as she took in the many, many faces trained on her and Arizona.

"Great speech!" Mark mocked his best friend who turned to glare at him.

"Yeah so Calliope and I…" Arizona started before glancing at her girlfriend unsure of whether Callie even wanted to out their new relationship publicly.

"Everyone spread the word around Callie Torres is officially off the market… now get back to work! Chop chop" Mark called with a pair of loud claps from his hands as he took pity on the two floundering women before winking as the looked back at them and seeing their grateful smiles at him.


	33. Chapter 33

"So where exactly are you taking me tonight?" Callie asked as she entered the T Hotel elevator with Arizona's hand grasped tightly in her own. She could not remove the deliriously happy smirk from her face at finally, FINALLY being on her first date with Arizona. The blonde had taken point on planning their first date and Callie had no idea what to expect, she didn't even care where they went or what they did, she was just happy to get to spend time with the woman she was allowed to call her girlfriend.

"It's a surprise, don't worry I'm pretty sure you will like it… and if you don't I will just make out with you until you forget you don't like it" Arizona offered with a smirk, laughing at how quickly Callie's face fell into a dreamy expression at the prospect of a make out session.

"Promise?" Callie asked, blushing when her voice cracked from the heaviness of the imaginings of her wandering mind.

"Definitely!" Arizona smirked as the elevator doors slid open and she tugged the brunette to follow her, if she didnt move quickly that make out session would be happening a lot sooner than planned, especially with the way Callie was staring so longingly at her lips.

"Have you already told John that we will need him to drive us tonight?" Callie asked as she gazed at the beautiful relaxed smile on her girlfriends face as she was guided outside of the hotel doors.

"Nope" Arizona glanced at Callie mischievously and swung their hands playfully.

"Oh… are we umm… are we taking a cab?" Callie quizzed as she tried to work out what Arizona had in store for her. She studied Arizona's face and her heart beat that little bit faster as dimples began to pop as Arizona practically skipped as she led Callie across the side of the building.

"Nope" Arizona repeated teasingly as she pulled Callie in for a playful kiss before pulling away and tugging her to hurry up.

"Ok… are you going to give me a clue about where we are going, I mean it's gotta be somewhere within walking distance if we aren't taking the car or a cab" Callie wracked her brain as to where Arizona could be taking her that was not too far from her apartment, but all she could think up were restaurants and bars and none of them seemed like the kind of options the blonde would select as a first date, although she could be wrong.

"Nope" Arizona repeated again, laughing when Callie glared at her with a pout as they rounded the side of the building towards the small staff parking area for T Hotel, Something not many people could boast about in NYC.

"Wait… do you have a car Arizona?" Callie asked, suddenly realizing that there was so many things about the blonde she probably didn't know yet, sure she could tell you that the blondes favorite food was donuts, how she took her coffee, that she preferred white wine over red... but generally just drank beer out of ease. She could even tell you that Arizona would complain about having to dress a certain way around the office but the blonde secretly loved being dressed up, just as much as she loved wearing her casual clothes. Suddenly she was overcome with a feeling of excitement that she would get to learn all about the blonde in a way not many people had gotten the chance to, and not only was she honored, but she was really excited.

"Nope" Arizona offered again, her dimples getting even deeper and more pronounced as she saw the frustration flash through chocolate eyes.

"Stop!" Callie whined and Arizona couldn't help but melt a little on the spot as she giggled at Callie's adorable pout.

"Ok fine. Close your eyes then" Arizona softly ordered and smirked at the incredulous Callie was giving her as they entered the car park and stopped smack bang in the center of it.

"Ummm… why exactly am I closing my eyes?" Callie glanced quizically around them seeing nothing but a dark empty car park holding four cars, several motorbikes and even more pushbikes, all secured by Frank - the security guard on duty tonight - who was watching the two women with amusement through knowing eyes. Clearly Arizona had already filled him in on why she was there and what her plans were for the brunette and Frank was almost as excited as Arizona was to see Callie's reaction.

"Just close your eyes please. I want to surprise you… please Calliope" Arizona begged as she leaned up and peppered several sweet kisses to Callie's lips, cheeks and jaw as she whined and Callie couldn't help but comply with the blondes request, huffing playfully when the kisses stopped before she felt Arizona cup her cheeks and give her a searing kiss.

"Promise to keep your eyes closed until I say you can open them?" Arizona asked and Callie nodded with a dreamy smile, still feeling the after effects of the kiss. Arizona took two caramel hands in her own and walked backwards two dozen steps in the right direction of where she needed to be whilst watching Callie like a hawk to make sure she wasn't peeking.

"Ok, stand still and no peeking. I just need to grab you something and then I will let you look" Arizona pleaded before skipping away and returning seconds later as she moved her eyes between her task and making sure Callie kept her eyes shut.

"Am I going to open my eyes and find you naked?" Callie asked playfully but if she wasn't lying there was a strong tone of hope in her words and the smile on her face gave the fact away.

"What in the middle of the car park at your hotel, yeah right!" Arizona snorted as she r her girlfriend and realizing how quiet Callie was being, she studied her face and instantly found a guilty smile gracing plump red lips. "Yuck! Calliope what's wrong with you! It's a car park, not exactly a classy or romantic spot!" Arizona laughed as she playfully slapped Callies arm in disgust.

"Hey what happened to no judgment? We all have a past Arizona!" Callie pouted playfully and Arizona couldn't resist kissing those alluring protruding lips once again, she was addicted, completely addicted to those lips. As she pulled back she lifted the item in her hands and raised it over Callies head with a smirk before lowering it down gently over the Brunettes head and tugging on the straps to settle it around her skull comfortably.

"What the hell is that!" Callie jumped as her eyes shot open instinctually and she attempted to see what was on her head. The more her head turned and cocked to try and get a view of whatever it was the blonde had put on her head, the more comical Arizona found the situation but seeing the growing frustration at her confusion spreading on Callie's face, Arizona reached up and lowered the helmet visor, her eyes never leaving Callie's as she studied her reaction as the brunette connected the dots. Callie's eyes widened and glanced behind Arizona to find a matt black Kawasaki Ninja that was two steps away from the blonde who was now wearing a fitted black leather jacket with a ribbed woolen collar and if Callie hadn't been sinking into a pond of panic.

"No way… you are fucking kidding me right?" Arizona couldn't have been sure if Callie had paled or turned green with nausea from her panic.

"Did I ever tell you that I ride?" Arizona asked as she covered the two steps to the bike and grabbed a second leather jacket, one she had rushed out to purchase today just for Callie in preparation for tonight. It was similar to her own, plain black fitted leather with a black ribbed wool collar, the only difference was that it didn't come with the years of wear that Arizona's had. Arizona held the jacket out to Callie and eyed her expectantly.

"I'm not getting on that thing, are you nuts?… nuh huh… no way... not happening crazy lady! My dad would KILL me!" Callie whispered dramatically, almost worried that if she spoke any louder her dad would hear her and magically appear.

"Wait… big bad Callie Torres is telling me that she can't come for a ride because her Daddy says no?" Arizona mocked as she tossed the leather to Callie, grabbed her own helmet and ducked her head down before flicking it backwards and quickly thrusting her matching matt black helmet onto her head before her hair could rush forward into her face again, once it was in place she glanced at Callie, smirking as actual drool began to slowly escape from the corner of her mouth, she hoped that her move would gain that reaction and she wasn't disappointed.

"Your staring at me… do I have something on my face?" Arizona teased as she lifted the leather seat of her motorbike and grabbed two pairs of gloves from a hidden compartment before closing it again before lifting the face of Callie's helmet and giving her a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Your still acting like I'm going to get on that thing" Callie finally spoke as she brushed at her mouth with the back of her hands and tried to ignore the throbbing between her legs as Arizona took the leather jacket back from her limp hands.

"You are… come on Torres don't be such a chicken... I thought you prided yourself on being bad ass!" Arizona mocked as she held the jacket out for Callie to slide her arms into but the brunette stayed frozen to the spot staring at the bike with wide brown eyes.

"Arizona! I'm not allowed on motorbikes, it's one of my dad's rules... he expressly told me when I was fourteen that if he ever caught me on one I would be in more trouble than I even know what to do with... it's like his biggest rule!" Callie clarified seriously as her eyes turned from the machine to Arizona's amused smug smile.

"Didn't you once tell me that rules were made to be broken? And aren't you like nearly thirty... I'm pretty sure you can make your own choices now, you're a big girl now Cal" Arizona scoffed as she teased the brunette and jiggled the jacket hoping to tempt the brunette to finally put it on.

"My dad will KILL me Arizona… and then he will kill you for putting me on that thing" Callie took a step back to distance herself from the death machine physically as she tried to make the blonde understand that there was no way that she would be convinced to get on that death trap.

"Well your Daddy never needs to find out… come on Cal, do you trust me to keep you safe? I would never knowingly put you in harm's way" Arizona pleaded, deliberatly poking her bottom lip out ever so slightly as her eye's began to blink rapidly, effectively fluttering her eyelashes.

"Oh come on! Don't give me that face… you know I do, but this… I have never been on one and I never plan to, they are dangerous Arizona! Do you know how many people die every single day because of these things?" Callie pointed to the bike with a trembling hand, watching as Arizona handed over the jacket once more, strode towards the bike and lifted her leg confidently over the seat, eyeing Callie flirtingly the entire time.

"I would never put your life in danger Calliope, I have been riding for a very, very long time and have yet to have a single accident... touch wood! I won't force you to get on this beautiful 'death trap' with me… but I'm riding my baby to our date destination and I would really like it if my other baby joined me BUT if you really, really, really don't want to get n here and wrap yourself around me while I take you for the ride of your life, I can call you an Uber and just meet you there" Arizona smiled sweetly before checking the bike was still in neutral gear and hitting the electronic start with her right thumb, her heart instantly adjusting to the rhythm of the engine, a sensation she would never get tired of.

"What are you going to do Calliope?" Arizona glanced back at Callie who was drooling again from the sight of her girlfriend clad in leather and straddling the idling machine.

"You promise it's safe?... like really safe, you're not just saying it's safe to convince me to get on it but it's actually not really safe?" Arizona nodded and bit her lip as Callie finally slid her jacket on and fastened the zipper before stepping closer to the blonde and her 'deathtrap' as she slid the leather gloves over her trembling hands and eyed the bike warily.

"Come here my big brave girl" Arizona mocked as she pulled Callie closer to her and began to fasten her helmet for her expertly through her thick leather gloves whilst placing several feather light kisses to the corners of Callie's lips.

"So you need to throw your leg over the back without kicking me off preferably" Arizona offered a supportive teasing smile as she saw the panic beginning to rise again. "There are foot pegs for you to rest your feet on and your gonna want to keep your feet on them and as close to the bike's body as possible. There's a slot right at the back that you can slide your hands into that will pin you to the bike while it's moving, but it would be much, much safer if you just wrapped your arms tightly around me and don't let go, in fact I strongly suggest you do that!" Arizona smirked at her little ploy to get cozy with the brunette, of course it wasn't any safer but she hoped that the little white lie would have Callie tightly wrapped around her within the next few minutes. Callie nodded silently as she paid serious attention to the blondes instructions, hanging off of every single word that she was given and Arizona could tell that Callie was genuinely scared.

"Once I pull off your going to want to try and relax… not because of anything serious happening, it will just be a lot comfier on your ass and back if your not so rigid in your seat. Your natural instinct is gonna be to fight the motion when the bike tilts to turn… but try not to fight it, just allow yourself to melt into my back and let the bike guide you to where it wants you to be… if you do fight it, there is a possibility that you will knock us off balance and you will make it a really uncomfortable and nerve wracking ride for both of us, so just relax and trust me to keep you safe… think you can do that big bad Callie Torres?" Arizona teased hoping to relax Callie a little before she even attempted to get on the back of the bike.

"Uh huh… what else?" Callie asked as she tried to force her heart rate to slow down by taking several deep breath's, she couldn't believe she was doing something so stupid just for a girl. Although Arizona wasn't just any girl, Callie was already convinced that Arizona was 'THE' girl. The one. The one girl. For her to be stood here even considering getting on to that death trap pretty much said how convinced Callie was of this fact.

"That's all sweetie… easy peasy. If you need to say something to me, I won't really be able to hear you because of the background noise so just tap my left shoulder three times and I will pull over as soon as I find somewhere safe" Arizona smiled supportively.

"Ok… I can do this!... it's just a bike right? A bike with an engine... but it's just a bike and there's that saying isn't there, that it's just like riding a bike... coz it's easy... ok! Ok... we're doing this... I'm doing this!" Callie said to herself in a bid to pump herself up. She stepped back behind Arizona with shaky legs and studied the bike trying to remember her girlfriends words and out how the hell she was meant to get on the machine.

"Put your left foot on the foot peg down there and grab my shoulder really tight to steady your upper body as you swing your right leg over. The bike will wobble slightly but trust me, I've got it, I won't let you fall baby" Arizona smiled sweetly and nodded supportively to encourage the brunette to try. Callie took a final deep breath before doing as Arizona instructed and the next time she opened her eyes, she was on the bike clutching at Arizona's back like her life depended on it with her feet almost clutching to the foot pegs like they had fingers.

"See that wasn't so hard, well done baby" Arizona cooed. "I'm going to just go around the car park a few times and let you get accustomed to the feel of it and then we will head off" Arizona beamed before grabbing the clutch and the front brake, kicking down into first and revving her wrist slightly, not wanting to startle her passenger. The blonde couldn't help but smirk as she crawled from the standstill carefully and Callies grip around her midsection doubled as she shuffled even closer till there was no air between Callie's front and Arizona's back.

"Your doing really well honey, just try to relax a little bit more... you won't fall off I promise" Arizona called over her shoulder as she took her left hand off the handle bar and grabbed Callie's hand and squeezed it supportively before returning it back on the rubber grip.

Once they had circled the car park half a dozen times and she felt Callie had relaxed considerably, Arizona pulled up and kicked the gears back into neutral before spinning slightly so she could see Callie's beaming smile.

"Ready to go?" Arizona smiled hopefully and Callie just nodded. "super… just remember if you want me to pull over or need to say something just tap my shoulder a few times" Arizona reminded and Callie once again nodded, she was still terrified but was now her hands trembled with an equal amount of excitement and eagerness as it did fear and nervousness.

Arizona slid the gears back into first and moved them out of the car park, smiling widely at Frank – the security guy - who waved them off with a big smile. For the first twenty minutes of their ride, Arizona navigated between traffic, traffic lights and junctions cautiously before they finally hit the more open roads of the outer city and picked up some speed.

Callie was finally beginning to relax, her confidence in Arizona's riding ability increasing with every second that passed and her panic of falling off and dying a painful death was beginning to waiver too. By the time Arizona was able to crank her wrist and build up some real speed, Callie was snuggled firmly into her back and their bodies were beginning to move as one and the pressure of Callie's thighs had relaxed, thankfully the were no longer pinning Arizona's own thighs into the bike's body painfully.

Another half an hour of straight open roads and Arizona pulled off the highway and onto an almost country like road - something Callie would never have expected to find so close to the city. Dusk had arrived in full force and the hedges and trees which lined the edges of the two lane road meant that headlights were imperative. Arizona slowed her speed a little more than she normally would have for the conditions, wanting to keep Callie calm and comfortable for the remainder of the ride as she slid around the curves and through the boughs and troughs as the country road followed nature's path as much as possible. Eventually Arizona turned the bike into a small grass and loose gravel car park where she slowed to a crawl, well aware of how dicey it could be riding over gravel without a nervous person on board.

At the end of the car park she pulled to a stop, kicked the bike into neutral and turned the key to switch the engine off before relaxing into Callies arms and just enjoying the feeling for a few moments as silence enveloped them.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to say 'I told you so' or act like a smart ass?" Callie murmered over the blondes shoulder where her chin was resting to get closer to the blonde as they rested.

"Sure, whats up?" Arizona smirked, already knowing what was coming but determined to not shoot herself in the foot by being a smart arse and have her girlfriend refuse any future rides, something she was already looking forward to and planning in her mind, all the many places she could go with her brunette, all the places they could explore together, she Callie, Arizona and the Ninja.

"I actually really, really enjoyed that… but please don't tell my dad ok?" Callie smiled as Arizona giggled, she turned her head slightly and placed a sweet kiss against the inner edge of the blondes cheek near her nose, quite the feat through two open faced visor's.

"I'm really glad you enjoyed it… how's your ass?" Arizona asked guessing the brunette was probably feeling a little numb by now having just experienced her first bike right that had lasted well over an hour.

"Still hot… although with those vibrations I'm pretty sure it's a little firmer now" Callie grinned when Arizona guffawed at the unexpected retort.

"Come on hot ass… I have one more surprise for you" Arizona prompted and awaited for Callie to get off so that she could lead the way, but Callie remained in her seat.

"Baby you need to get off first" Arizona prompted.

"See here's the thing… You told me how to get on, not off and I don't know how to get off" Callie grimaced at her complete novice level of riding with the clearly experienced rider.

"Oh from what I have read on google about you, you have no issues with getting off sweetie" Arizona teased, laughing when Callie playfully slapped her shoulder.

"Hey… no judging! Now tell me how to get off this thing please!" Callie whined and even though Arizona couldn't see the caramel face, she knew there was a pout on it, she could tell from the tone of Callie's voice. The knowledge that she could distinguish whether Callie was pouting just from her voice really warmed the blondes heart and a wide smile erupted onto her face.

"Same way you got on but in reverse. Left foot on the peg. Grab my shoulder and swing your right leg over the back… remembering to not kick me off in the process" Arizona scoffed as she grabbed the fastener under her chin and undid her helmet before sliding it off and letting her long blonde hair blow in the breeze before she shook it out slightly with her fingers to stop it from clinging to her forehead, a terrible disease known as helmet hair that so many women suffer casualty to.

"Jesus fuck your sexy when you do that" Callie smirked as she watched on from the side, glad that she had managed to remove herself from the machine just in time to enjoy the show. Arizona threw her a wink before flicking out the side stand and swinging her own leg over the bike and throwing her gloves in the helmet and laying both on the ground before moving to help Callie take her own helmet off as she saw the brunette struggle with the safety strap beneath a caramel chin.

"So how did you enjoy your first time with me taking you for a ride?" Arizona openly flirted with no shame and Callie couldn't help but swoon and grin like an idiot at this side of the blonde, it was a side she had seen a time or two fleetingly, but it was different now. There was no boundaries controlling them anymore, there was no concern of the flirting going to far or pushing the other too much and Callie was loving every moment of it.

"I really, really, really liked riding you… I mean with you" Callie smirked and Arizona couldn't contain her laughter at Callies obvious slip up.

"I'm sure you will approve of both" Arizona winked before kissing Callies lips in a chaste kiss before moving away to put Callie's helmet with her own and holding her hand out in an expectant offer to Callie who happily accepted by entwining her fingers with ivory ones. Arizona began to lead her through a trail that was lit up by the full moon and a torch that Arizona had retrieved from her bike.

"So what made you decide to take me out on a motorbike tonight?" Callie quizzed seriously, genuinely intrigued by the blonde's unique first date choice.

"Well … no judgment but..." Arizona winked at Callie teasingly "I know you have had a date or two around NYC and I wanted to do something new and different for you. I'm willing to bet that you have eaten in almost every restaurant worth eating in and drunk in every bar worth drinking in and as we are not thirteen I deducted that the movies and bowling were out … you are kind of impossible to plan a first date for you know" Arizona smiled as Callie laughed her agreement and didn't take offense to her honesty.

"You know I would have sat downstairs in the hotel bar and eaten a side of fries and chicken wings with you and would have been more than happy, you don't need to impress me Arizona you did that a long time ago without even trying or meaning to" Callie confessed as she swung their co-joined hands in a child like fashion and smiled bashfully at the blonde.

"How long ago?" Arizona asked, wondering if the brunette would confirm what Mark had told her or whether Callie would come up with some lame excuse in a bid to not embarrass herself about never bringing up how she felt. It really could go either way with Callie, but she hoped that she would get the honest answer.

"Truthfully? Probably the first time we met… but I didn't realize till Mark spelled it out to me a few months ago. It was actually the day before I told you about Jo and the whole… sorry. I should not be bringing up your ex on our first date!" Callie grimaced as she realized what she was saying before her eyes widened in panic at how Arizona may misunderstand her reasons for selling Jo out. "that's not why... I swear that's not why I told you though, I swear! I didn't even factor that into the decision about telling you as soon as I found out"

"Hey, Cal listen to me… I know why you told me and there was no malice or ulterior motive in it. I have never doubted that for a second. I could see it in your eyes how much it pained you to be the one to tell me… and you know, I really do appreciate that you put yourself on the line like that for me… it was incredibly sweet" Arizona squeezed the caramel fingers entwined in her own and smiled at Callie openly, no holding back.

"I'm glad you trust me... you know Mark tried to talk me out of telling you, said I should keep my mouth shut and wait till you found out some other way and then help you mend your broken heart before swooping in to sweep you off your feet and making a move" Callie scoffed.

"Mark's a jackass, I'm glad you didn't pay attention to him" Arizona grinned and shoulder bumped the brunette to show she was joking... hell if it wasn't for Mark they probably wouldn't even be stood together on their first date right now. With that though she made a mental note to do something nice for Callie's best friend to show her appreciation, it sounds like he had a lot to do with helping Callie admit her feelings too.

"Me too, I just... I couldn't sit back and say nothing with the knowledge of what she was doing, I will always protect you even if it comes at a risk or a cost to myself, but anyway... where exactly are we going? You're not leading me towards a shallow grave to murder me are you?" Callie quizzed hoping to turn the conversation back to lighter and easier topics.

"Just a few more minutes and you will find out for yourself" Arizona pulled at Callie's hand to get her to speed up and sure enough, three minutes later they came over the brow of the steady hill they had been climbing and Callie gasped in awe at the view laid out in front of her, both near and on the horizon.

In front of her was a large picnic blanket surrounded by dozens of candles sat in hurricane lanterns that softly lit the seating area. A wicker picnic basket was placed in the center of the blanket and was full to the brim of delicious food and next to it a metal wine bucket containing a single bottle of wine and filled with chunks of ice. And behind all of that? Well that was the best part. Arizona had taken Callie to an outlook which had New York City spread out below in all its night time glory with billions of tiny lights flickering. Above the concrete jungle was nothing but an endless array of stars in a pitch black, perfectly clear night. It was the closest thing perfect this close to the city and Arizona's eyes studied the brunette closely, watching the reaction to the real date she had organized in real time as she memorized every single minute movement of her girlfriends beautiful face as it happened.

"Holy shit! How did you even find this place?" Callie asked, her wide eyes never leaving the view in front of her.

"A friend of my parents bought this whole block of land several decades ago and always planned to self build their dream home on it, but then the recession happened and then Jack had a heart attack and ended up unable to do any manual labor himself, so now they just keep it as a nest egg should they ever be in dire straights and need to get some fast cash… they let their friends visit whenever they want as long as they don't have parties and whatnot up here, but we all love the secrecy of it so much that we keep it to ourselves so not to spoil it... do don't be telling anyone about this place" Arizona smiled as she stepped behind the brunette and wrapped her arms around her waist, her eyes peeking over the brunettes shoulder as she laid her lips against her shoulder blade and kissed it through the leather.

"I can't believe I didn't even know that this place existed, it is stunning up here... really, really stunning" Callie smiled as she relaxed back into the embrace.

"Anywhere is stunning when I'm with you Calliope... I could stand in the middle of a garbage tip and as long as I was with you it would be beautiful" Arizona whispered and Callie couldn't help but spin around in the embrace and capture the blondes lips in a tender and loving kiss as her heart soared at Arizona's words.


	34. Chapter 34

A/N- Here you go people. the rest of their date... hope you all enjoy. I start my new job on Wednesday so posts may end up being every other day or so but i will try to keep them coming regularly but until i get a grasp on my new scheduele no promises.

AL xxx

-oOo-

"Ok so tell me what your absolute worst date ever was?" Callie laughed as she flicked a grape at Arizona. They had been at the overlook for a few hours but neither seemed to notice, time had become something of an unimportant, unknown entity as they laughed and talked and kissed, enjoying getting to know each other without any barriers between them.

"That has to be the girl I dated while at uni… I think her name was Emma or maybe Ella… she took me to McDonalds and treated me to a happy meal before asking if she could steal MY toy to give to her exes daughter and then proceeded to spend the entire night bringing the conversation back to said ex… before receiving a call from the ex saying she needed help with something and she just walked out on me and left me there with an empty happy meal box and toyless" Arizona relayed her tale as Callie laughed.

"So what did you do? Go home without your happy meal toy and cry over your loss?" Callie scoffed just before a grape hit her and Arizona offered a squinted glare.

"No I went to the nearest bar, picked up some woman and went back to her place for the night, in all fairness, it really took my mind off the loss of the toy" Arizona winked teasingly as Callie visibly grimaced.

"Great… thanks for that visual, just what I needed, the thought of some random woman touching my girlfriend" Callie grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared hard at the blonde.

"Aww baby… now you know how I feel walking down the street and knowing one in every five women that walks past me has seen you naked!... I'm pretty sure that was the figure in your GQ interview... one in five women who live in New York have slept with Callie Torres" Arizona teased and tried to swallow her own grimace.

"One in every five… fucking hell, how much of a slut do you think I am Arizona!" Callie choked on the grape that she had been chewing and coughed loudly as she fought the words escaping her mouth in shock. "and which interview is this, I'm putting my very amazing and hot attorney to work in suing them for slander! At the very worst it's one in fifty...! probably not even that if I'm being honest!"

"I'm hoping that what you just meant to say was 'how much of a slut do you think I USED to be before I fell in love with you and committed myself to you for eternity in monogamous bliss" Arizona teased as she passed a bottle of water from the hamper to her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow.

"Wow… it's our first date and your already pulling out the eternity, monogamy and commitment talk… if I'm not careful you'll be asking me for a key to my apartment in the next few minutes" Callie snorted.

"Have you forgotten that I already have a key to your apartment… remember you gave it to me when you had to call me to come help you because you were in a pickle and were stuck, but wouldn't tell me why you were stuck and I had to get maintenance to let me in only for both of us to find you handcuffed to the…"

"Yes thank you, I don't think we need to rehash that night Sweetie, in fact let's just agree to forget that ever happened!" Callie interrupted with a blush which only sparked Arizona to release a deep bark of laughter at her girlfriends discomfort.

"Oh come on! Where's the fun in that... please baby, you have to tell me now what happened! It's my right as your Girlfriend... I get to know all your embarrassing secrets now" Arizona teased as she grabbed Callie's warm hand into her own and squeezed it affectionately.

"Hah absolutely not, especially now!" Callie scoffed in alarm that Arizona wanted to find out her sordid secrets and thought it was now her god given right, and she already knew that Arizona was lie a dog with a bone.

"What if I said pretty please?" Arizona smiled sweetly.

"Nope… what happened to leaving our sexual history in the past, where. It. belongs?" Callie spelled out quizzically, she watched on as the blonde crawled towards her with a mischievous smirk that caused her heart to race and a throb to begin between her legs. "whatever your doing right now, it's not working… I'm not telling you!"

"What makes you think I'm doing anything?" Arizona asked innocently as she pushed Callie onto her back gently and straddled her waist before bending over to kiss her deeply, her golden hair curtaining around their faces and tickling Callie's cheeks causing her to release a contented sigh.

"Because I know you Arizona Robbins, I know when you smirk at me in that way and give me that look that I'm about to be turned into putty in your hands... I'm not too big to admit the fact" Callie admitted softly when the kiss finally ended, her arms snaking around ivory hips to keep the blonde close.

"Is that so… well if what you are saying is true, tell me then... why were you handcuffed to the bed and left alone Calliope" Arizona grinned as she began to nuzzle Callies neck with her nose before peppering playful kisses over the caramel flesh and smirking when she felt the brunette begin to giggle under her attack.

"Nope, not happening... I don't care how much you do that, I'm going to stand my ground on this" Callie laughed as the blonde pulled back with a pout before dropping down to silenced her with a powerful kiss that stole Callie's breath.

"Tell me" Arizona murmured against plump red lips, refusing to pull away from the addictive lips still softly pressed against her own.

"No" Callie grinned and shook her head softly, tickling her lips against thin pink ones as her hands grasped tighter at Arizona's denim clad thighs and tried to ignore the aching desperation deep within her to thrust her own thighs up to grind against the blondes core.

"Your going to tell me one day anyway, so why not just get it over with in a setting where we can laugh about it?" Arizona smirked as she saw Callie instantly mull over the truth to her words before nodding resolutely and deliberately ignoring the smug smirk written over a beautiful alabaster face as her resolve began to crack.

"I never plan on telling you this, I'm not proud of it and I don't want you to think badly of me even if I deserve for you to think badly of me, especially now… I only just convinced you to be my girlfriend and stop running away from me, I don't want to lose you less than twenty four hours later because I confirm that I really am a pig and if I tell you this, then you will walk away and probably never talk to me again" Callie whispered with a frown and Arizona felt her heart breaking at the vulnerability in those sad brown eyes.

"Hey… trust me, I already know you're a pig Callie and I still love you, in fact it's part of the reason I love you and it's actually one of the many, many reasons I fell in love with you… and you aren't allowed to ever use that against me or in retaliation to any future disagreements about your piggery" Arizona teased, not wanting the beautiful woman beneath her to be hurt and upset and when she saw the smile tugging at the edges of Callie's lips she knew she had succeeded.

"Look, I will never force you to tell me anything you don't want to. But I know you Cal, I may not be privy to all of your dirty dark secrets, but I do know you and I love you, not just one part of you, I love the parts of you that drive me crazy just as much as I love the parts of you that make me melt and swoon. There is nothing you could tell me that will change that baby. I'd like to hope that one day we can have an open, honest and trusting relationship with no secrets and nothing being held back… but we have only been together a few hours so if today isn't that day then that's ok too!" Arizona offered a sweet smile and a tender kiss as Callie visibly relaxed at being let off the hook.

"As long as it's something we are working towards together because I don't want you to feel like you ever need to hide yourself from me, I just want you to be yourself and be happy and proud of who you are because despite what you may think… I know that your incredible and wonderful and so much more than words could ever cover" Arizona ducked her head to lay a single gentle kiss against Callies lips.

"Ok, fine! You win and you don't play fair when you pull out speeches like that! That chick who handcuffed me to the bed and then left with the stupid key… I may have slept with her before, and then mistaken her for her almost identical sister when she raised the point that it wasn't our first interaction… her sister who I had also slept with… and she may have played along and pretended to be said sister in order to get some revenge when I picked her up at the bar by mistaking her as her sister and complimenting her on the last time we saw each other... which to be clear was the time her sister and I hooked up and I wasn't very subtle about that" Callie blushed as her eyes focussed on Arizona's collar and wouldn't budge.

"Wow… remind me to keep you away from my sister" Arizona ducked her head to meet worried brown eyes and winked to show she wasn't judging, nor looking at the brunette any differently after her confession.

"You don't even have a sister!" Callie scoffed at the blondes antics.

"Ok well stay away from my Mom then" Arizona laughed as Callie wrinkled her nose in absolute disgust and horror at the thought. "wait… please tell me that you haven't already slept with my mom!" Arizona teased with a huge smirk.

"Yuck! No of course not!" Callie laughed as she slapped Arizona's shoulder playfully.

"Good… coz that could have been a deal breaker! I don't share and definitely not with my Mom, that's a line I will never cross" Arizona grinned as she nuzzled her nose against Callie's nose a few times before leaned forward the last few millimeters and kissing her lips affectionately.

"I've gotta ask… how can you be so… open and... and... accepting of my past. I mean honestly, if the tables were turned and I was you, I would be scratching the eyes out of every woman I met just incase they were one of the lucky ones who got a piece of this" Callie slid her hands down and grabbed Arizona's ass squeezing it before returning her hands to the blondes hips, smirking when Arizona laughed at her.

"I'm not ok with it baby… far from it, but I'm also not going to lose out on what could be the greatest love story of all time, just because you have some history. Trust me, when I see women eyeing you up and flirting with you I want to take a brick and pretty up their faces. I guess all I can do is trust that now we are together you will be faithful to me and act respectfully towards our relationship by not flirting with any chicks anymore, but I also know you, and I know sometimes you can't help yourself… I saw you flirt with Esme at the office once which is all kinds of sick and wrong by the way, but it's who you are and it may have to be something I learn to accept and get used to… but your past is your past and I promise I won't just judge you on it… not until you give me a reason to anyway, I promise" Arizona offered honestly and Callie couldn't help but smile as she moved her hand to the back of Arizona's neck and pulled her down till their lips collided in a hungry, emotion filled kiss.

"Pillow princess" Arizona teased as she pulled back, grinning when Callie laughed openly at her 'insult'.

"Yeah, yeah" Callie grinned as her laughter finally ebbed. "I want you to know that yes… flirting does come really naturally to me, It's not something I have ever really consciously thought about it just happens. But I will try and get it under control… not because you have asked me to or want me to... and not even because I know it would upset you if you caught me flirting with someone regardless of it's innocence, although they are both strong factors! I'm going to do it because I love you and I respect you and I believe that you deserve a girlfriend who is devoted to only you and has eyes for only you. And honestly... The few times I have flirted with someone in the last few months it has just felt kind of weird and a little awkward, like I don't enjoy that banter like I used to unless it's you I am flirting with… does that make sense?" Callie asked as she studied the blonde, trying to read her thoughts.

"It does, and I appreciate the sentiment. We will deal with what happens as it happens, just know that even if I do act like a jealous lunatic sometimes, it's not you I don't trust it's the skanks that have their dirty eyes all over you" Arizona pouted as Callie laughed.

"Wait a second" Callie sobered "didn't you tell me just last night that you had JUST come to the conclusion that you were in love with me… why then does it sound like you are speaking from experience with all of these skanks?" Callie asked without any trace of humor as her eyes narrowed to study the blonde hovering above her closely.

"Maybe it's because I am sweetie… just because I couldn't see the obvious and didn't realize that I was in love with you until way after the piece, it doesn't mean that I wasn't aware of how jealous I got over certain people even if I didn't want to acknowledge to myself that what I was feeling was jealousy nor what that jealousy could mean" Arizona offered a bashful smile.

"Erica?" Callie asked simply and smiled when the blonde nodded shyly without any hesitation.

"I could tell that you had a problem with her… but you know there was never anything going on with her and I had no interest in her in anyway other than professionally, I swear to you I didn't .. and I know it didn't look that way last night, but I wasn't lying when I explained what happened… when I saw the pain in your eyes before you just walked away, I have never felt so gutted and devastated like that before, and I wanted to chase you straight away but Erica wouldn't get out and I have learned the hard way not to leave a scorned woman alone in my apartment" Callie grimaced at the memory of coming back to find half of her belongings in pieces the last time.

"Yeah that's probably a piece of common sense you should have known without needing to learn it through a lesson baby" Arizona grinned in hope of lightening the mood again.

"Yeah well, now I have the most beautiful, caring, generous, kind and lovely woman in the world right here in my arms… maybe I won't ever need to worry about any of that stuff ever again" Callie offered with a lopsided grin as she gazed up hopefully into cerulean eyes.

"You know… I've known for a long time that you have this secret sweet side to you, but I don't think I ever expected that you would be this sweet and cute… your adorable Calliope" Arizona cooed, smirking when Callie blushed deeply.

"If you tell a single soul I will be forced to call the Torres hitman" Callie joked.

"Oh please, as if I would believe that mafia crap! Anyway, your dad loves me and would never let you snuff me out" Arizona teased.

"Hah not right now he doesn't, because of you he has just under a hundred mill missing from the bank, he has a headache to fix with Coney Towers, he has to have a meeting with yours truly where you know I'm going to be bringing the smart ass regardless of what he said… I gave him hell yesterday and again this morning over your community center and Esme even made him sleep on the couch... right now baby, you are a HUGE pain in his ass!" Callie snorted.

"Wait… he doesn't really hate me for those things does he?" Arizona instantly worried as her brow creased.

"God no… he even told me he felt terrible making the decision and knowing how much it would hurt you but he was trying to do business and not let his feelings or mine cloud his judgment… which I get, I really do… I just don't think he expected me to put my foot down and keep it down. If anything he probably loves you more now because you inadvertently made me really stand up to him for the first time" Callie smiled reassuringly as she pulled Arizona down by the neck to kiss her.

"Ok baby… just promise me that next time you fight with your dad you won't use money to fight your battles, use your brain instead... all that money you spent to prove a point could have been used for a much better cause" Arizona smiled adoringly as her lips hovered over Callies.

"Yes honey… can we stop talking about my dad and make out now please?" Callie begged and Arizona would be damned if she denied the latina anything, especially that request.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N - Ok so I know roughly where I am taking this now, but need a few filler chapters to move it in that direction in order to start the storyline properly... this fic was meant to end when they finally got together with only an epilogue, now your getting everything before the epilogue... so sit back and get ready for a dozen or so chapters of Calzona fluff and banter... You 'all' complained when you got no Calzona fluff for 30 chapters so now i'm going to bombard you. Also please notice that we have officially been upgraded to an M rating... so if scenes of a sexual nature between two women offend you, your probably in the wrong place and should turn back now!

Also just a quick thank you to the many many MANY reviewers (esp that guest who keeps guessing plot lines... your seriously scaring me now and i changed my password, i have no idea if it's the same guest but its creepy as hell!), the good, the personal, the constructive and even the nay-sayers... thankyou for taking the time to write a few words to me! to the people who are pm'ing, to the silent readers, and to the dragon lady who entertains me whilst i'm burning the midnight oil and writing away... you get a special mention, coz you're special (needs). Also to my favorite reader and reviewer and my biggest supporter and number one fan, you know who you are long time reader first time reviewer, thanks for all the inspiration x!

-oOo-

"Callie! my lips actually hurt" Arizona whined as she pulled back and snuggled into Callie's side, forcibly hiding her lips in protection from the chuckling brunette.

"It's not my fault that your perfect kissable lips are so addictive to me" Callie purred as she nuzzles against Arizona's cheek and laughed when the blonde buried her face deeper into her neck.

"What time is it anyway? I suddenly feel like we have been up here for way longer than I planned for us to be" Arizona wondered out loud, giggling as Callie squinted and moved her arm around in the dark to try and read her platinum rolex.

"All that money for a watch and it doesn't even come with a light up face feature" Arizona scoffed before Callie began to tickle her and she shrieked trying to roll away but Callie followed and pinned her down, finally having the upper hand and being the one straddling the blonde who was squirming beneath her.

"Apologize to my watch for making fun of it and hurting it's feelings" Callie demanded and when Arizona glared at her incredulously the tickle assault resumed causing Arizona to bark out in laughter.

"Say your sorry Arizona" Callie grinned in between bouts of laughter as the blonde squirmed beneath her with tears rolling from her cheeks.

"fine. FINE! I'm sorry I hurt your feelings watch, please accept my deepest, most heartfelt apology!" Arizona gasped as she tried to calm down her laughter and catch her breath.

"Much better!" Callie grinned before sitting up on her knees and fishing in her pockets for her phone, smirking as she felt Arizona's hands snaking over her thighs and hips flirtily.

"Hey handsy! Behave yourself" Callie winked at the blonde before looking at her now lit up phone and gasping in shock at what she found. "Arizona its three am!" Callie offered the phone for the blonde to see for herself and Arizona's eyes widened in shock.

"Yikes… good job it's Saturday tomorrow and we don't have to work!" Arizona smirked as she tried to push Callie off her so she could get up and clean up their dirty dishes but Callie had her pinned down and wasn't budging as she smirked down at the blonde with a mockingly raised eyebrow.

"You are freakishly strong Calliope!" Arizona commented as she lay back down and conceded defeat in her attempts to break free.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now where exactly do you think you were going?" Callie asked pointedly as she raised that questioning eyebrow even higher.

"Umm to clean up so I can get you home before you turn into a pumpkin!" Arizona scoffed playfully as her hands began to trace patterns on denim clad thighs.

"I have a better idea… how about instead of taking me home… we just stay here a little bit longer and we can catch the sunrise before heading back. I'm not really ready for our first date to be over yet" Callie admitted shyly.

"That sounds like an amazing idea but I wouldnt want to ride the bike back without any sleep, it's not safe" Arizona grimaced.

"Then I will call Mike in the morning and get him to come grab us in the chopper and if he can't air lift the bike back, I will get Mark to send someone over to pick it up and ride it back for you" Callie pouted and battered her eyelashes hoping that Arizona wouldn't deny her request.

"Fine, but this is the only time do you get to use the helicopter on a date Torres, after that you have to act like a normal person and call your dad for a lift instead" Arizona smirked, laughing when Callie began to dance triumphantly and she saw her opportunity to try and wiggle free, but the second Callie felt her shift between her legs she tensed her body and defended her position much to the blondes chagrin.

"You suck!" Arizona whined.

"wouldn't you like to know!" Callie winked.

-oOo-

"I am so tired. I can't tell you the last time I pulled a full all nighter" Callie yawned as they entered her apartment lethargically at a little after seven am.

"I really don't think I would want you to" Arizona teased with a lopsided smile - all she had the energy for - as she melted into Callie's couch and felt her body instantly relax and start drifting to sleep. "Cal can I just sleep here for an hour before I head home?" Arizona begged with her eyes still shut and her breathing beginning to deepen and even out.

"No you can't sleep on my couch!" Callie groaned as she fought with her shoes, offering a smirk when Arizona pouted and squinted in disgust at the refusal.

"You can certainly sleep… and for more than an hour too… BUT you do it in my room with me with spooning you!" Callie smiled hopefully.

"Fully dressed?" Arizona questioned, too tired to formulate an actual sentence through her exhaustion.

"Yes sweetie… I told you I want to take it slow with you, but right now I really need to snuggle up and fall asleep with you in my arms... If you don't want to I will understand and not be upset, but I'm really hoping you say yes" Callie offered honestly and the vulnerability in her eyes shone through brightly.

"There is one condition, should I agree to this snuggling…" Arizona said slowly and smirked as Callie waited impatiently for her to continue.

"When we wake up… we order take out and put a movie on" Arizona finished with a smile as Callie grinned widely.

"You have yourself a deal! and because I'm such a kind and generous person, you can not only choose what movie, you get to pick which type of takeout too" Callie grinned as she held out her hand and felt Arizona's hand drop into it limply.

"Come on sleeping beauty, let's go and get some rest" Callie smiled as she pulled Arizona from the couch and began leading her towards her bedroom.

"So Gav and Si weren't lying… it actually was you who called me sleeping beauty" Arizona scoffed as she entered the brunette's bedroom and watched as Callie moved off into the closet alone and grabbed a pair of tracksuit pants and a baggy t-shirt for each of them before returning with a thankful smile, glad that Arizona accepted the offer to stay.

"Technically they called you sleeping beauty… they just called you it because I said you needed soooooo much sleep because you were soooooo beautiful" Callie smiled bashfully as she tossed Arizona the clothes before yanking her t-shirt over her head and reaching behind her to unhook her bra all in one swift move.

"Umm… whatcha doing there Calliope?" Arizona asked as she fought the internal war of whether to force her eyes to focus on Callie's face or allow her eyes to wander, which they very much wanted to.

"Umm taking my bra off? Have you ever actually slept in one of these things?" Callie scoffed as she tossed her bra to the side and reached for her nightshirt on the bed before every muscle tensed and she froze on the spot.

"There it is…" Arizona scoffed as she watched the whole scene play out with amusement.

"I umm… I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry" Callie blushed as she snatched the shirt in a tight fist.

"Don't be sorry, I was enjoying the unexpected strip tease" Arizona laughed as she watched Callie quickly threw her t-shirt over her head and tugging it quickly down to cover her body before eyeing the blonde.

"You could have stopped me before I was totally topless!" Callie snorted as her hands found her hips.

"What, and ruin my perve? Do I look stupid?" Arizona winked teasingly before swallowing thickly to settle her nerves and whipping her own t-shirt off and eyeing Callie as she was absorbing the exposed ivory flesh with absolutely no shame.

"Want to take a photo? It'll last longer" Arizona snorted as she raised her eyebrow pointedly, shrieking when Callie grabbed her phone from her back pocket. "I was joking Calliope! No nudies… not ever!"

"What? But you said I could?... Oh come on Arizona I'm just teasing you! I don't need a photo because this…" Callie motioned to the creamy chest covered in only a plum colored bra with a lacy design over the slightly padded cups "…is now committed to my memory for life… has anyone ever told you how incredibly beautiful you are?" Callie asked seriously as she watched Arizona's blush wash over her chest, up her neck and across her face.

"I mean it baby. We both know I have seen a lot of women, but I am telling you right now, I have never seen anyone as breathtakingly stunning as you are, I have never seen anyone that comes anywhere near this sexy and I have never met anyone with the power to do the things you do to my body by just taking your shirt off" Callie smiled softly and Arizona could read the honesty in those expressive chocolate orbs.

"Thank you" Arizona smiled shyly.

"Don't ever thank me for appreciating your body, its my pleasure!" Callie winked flirtily to ease Arizona's shyness. "and don't be so shy baby, trust me why I say I very much desire you in way I didn't even know you could want a person. You just do something to me, and honestly it's a little scary, but it's scary in a good way… I'm gonna turn around now and change my pants so you can take that bra off" Callie offered a knowing smile before she spun around, removed her jeans and pulled on her tracksuit pants before dropping dramatically onto the bed and releasing a satisfied sigh.

"Are you ok with that side?" Callie asked as she opened her eyes only to see Arizona stood topless and only just grabbing the t-shirt.

"Sorry I thought you'd be done by now" Callie slammed her eyes closed and threw her hands over her face to give Arizona some privacy.

"Calliope! I appreciate what your trying to do… but open your eyes and enjoy the show while you can" Arizona smirked as she pulled her head through the t-shirt before glancing at Callie who was now peeking through spread fingers and practically drooling. Once Arizona was changed she slid into bed next to Callie and wriggled until she was cuddled into the brunettes side with her head on Callie's chest and caramel arms wrapped securely around her and holding her close.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep now" Callie whispered into soft blonde hair before breathing deeply and basking in that delicious scent that was all Arizona.

"Why's that baby?" Arizona asked on a yawn as she struggled to not fall asleep mid sentence.

"Because my entire body is on fire… I never really allowed myself to notice before because I didn't want to disrespect you by actually looking but fuck me your gorgeous" Callie confessed so seriously that Arizona couldn't help but snort out a bark of laughter in surprise.

"My I think that's the sweetest thing you have ever said to me, Callie Torres" Arizona teased as she found a spot of exposed flesh and kissed it.

"I'm serious… even on the boat I never really allowed myself to look because I didn't want to be that person who just eyed you like a piece of meat... and you know you made it really, really, REALLY hard" Callie sighed dramatically.

Arizona leaned up and rested on her elbow as she studied the brunette below for a few moments, almost studying the honesty in her eyes whilst she tried to formulate the best response she could.

"Well from this moment on, you are the only person who will ever be allowed to look, to touch, to taste. I am all yours for the taking, and I know you want to take things slowly and I respect that and support your choice to take things slowly, but you can look whenever you feel like it and not feel like your disrespecting me… I actually kind of like the way your eyes look devour me, like your memorizing every single millimeter of me, I love that feeling babe, you are the only one who has ever made me feel like that from just a look" Arizona offered an honest smile as one hand cupped Callie's cheek affectionately.

"I am memorizing you… because if something bad happens tomorrow and I go blind, I want to never forget how incredibly beautiful you are, your face, your body, your soul… all of you is more beautiful than I could describe" Callie pulled the blonde down into a deep, heartfelt kiss.

"Your adorable and breathtaking Calliope" Arizona whispered as she placed a sweet kiss to Callie's lips before snuggling back into her previous position and tightening her hold.

"And you a breath of fresh air Arizona" Callie whispered back as the two women began to drift.


	36. Chapter 36

"Torro! How did your first date go?" Mark grinned as he wriggled his eyebrows suggestively as the two women entered the kitchen hand in hand with matching beaming smiles.

"Technically we are still on it" Callie grinned as she began making three coffees, smiling as she heard Arizona slapping Mark over her shoulder.

"Quit picturing us naked Mark!" Arizona scoffed as Mark winced at the sting that rang through his shoulder.

"Ouch! Torres are you going to let her treat me like that?" Mark threw a mock glare at the blonde before turning to his best friend expectantly.

"Not only will I let her treat you like that but I will encourage her to slap you when your dirty little mind starts going where it doesn't belong" Callie scoffed as she dumped a coffee in front of him before grabbing the other two coffees and handing one to Arizona with an affectionate peck. Arizona took a long sip of her coffee, her eyes snapping shut and a moan erupting from deep within her as she basked in the flavor and scent assaulting her every sense.

"God this is a good coffee babe!" Arizona remarked before opening her eyes and spying two people staring at her questioningly with wide eyes, Callie with a dreamy smile and Mark with a lecherous grin as he began to speak.

"Ummm… did you.."

"Mark no! Bad boy!" Callie picked up a folded newspaper from the counter and threw it in his direction, smirking proudly when it hit him on the head.

"What did I do?" Mark whined as he rubbed the reddening spot with a pout.

"Oh you know exactly what you did!" Callie mocked as she rose a challenging eyebrow at her best friend who glared in return.

"What did he do?" Arizona asked as she watched the friends banter playing out in confusion.

"He was just about to make some disgusting comment about the orgasmic sounding moan you made when you took your first sip of coffee" Callie offered bashfully before glaring at Mark again, challenging him to lie and deny it.

"Oh come on Cal… since when do you hear that kind of sound and not think the exact same thing?" Mark asked incredulously as his hands raised into the air in shock.

"Well, since she is my girlfriend I will think the same thing, but that doesn't mean I'm going to voice it or listen to you voicing it!" Callie scoffed as she tossed a second newspaper at him, this time however he was prepared and caught the paper with a smug smile.

"Umm what orgasmic moan?" Arizona interrupted as she glanced between the two friends who were smirking at her.

"Oh trust me blondie there was definitely an orgasmic moan! Poor Cal here nearly came undone just listening to it" Mark smirked as his eyes flicked to the brunette who was blushing and was obviously just about to start protesting. "your pretty pink cheeks give you away Torro" Mark sing-songed before bursting into laughter.

"Suck it ass hole!" Callie shot back as she picked an apple up from the fruit bowl – having ran out of newspapers - and tossed it at Mark with gusto, glaring when he caught it charismatically and took a bite, his eyebrows wriggling mockingly.

"Urgh I forgot how good your hand eye co-ordination is!" Callie groaned at the shit eating grin being thrown at her.

"That's what all the ladies keep telling me Cal, what can I say, I'm gifted" Mark smirked with a flirty wink.

"Gifted is one description… mentally challenged is another" Arizona smiled sweetly at the tall man opposite her as Callie guffawed and kissed her cheek approvingly whilst Mark gave her the one finger salute.

"See… that's why I love her… see how she just shut you down with what? Six words… she completely burned you without even breaking a sweat" Callie snorted as her empty hand found Arizona's and their fingers entwined as if they had been holding hands the entire time they had known each other.

"Yeah, yeah… please tell me I'm not going to be listening to nothing but how wonderful Arizona is… no offense blondie but there are other things going on around us to talk about other than you, you and you" Mark pouted playfully.

"I could sit and tell you how wonderful Calliope is instead… give you a bit of variation?" Arizona offered and Mark couldn't resist but scoff at her and roll his eyes.

"Your funny blondie, I'll give you that!" Mark grinned and nodded as if agreeing to an internal statement only he was privy to.

"Quit with the blondie Mark! Otherwise I will tell her your high school nickname so she can retaliate in future!" Callie warned seriously and Mark pales instantly.

"Don't you dare" "Oh tell me!" Arizona and Mark eyed each other as Callie laughed at their uniformed response.

"Mark are you going to stop calling her blondie?" Callie asked sweetly and Mark nodded solemnly. "then your secret is safe, Arizona baby Mark tells me things because im his oldest and bestest friend and as much as I love you I have to be respectful to him and our friendship and keep his secrets for him" Callie cooed softly and hoped her girlfriend would understand.

"Fine!" Arizona grumbled before winking at a smug looking Mark. "I bet I will get all your secrets out of her eventually, you would be amazed at the things a woman will give up when she's being held hostage to an orgasm" Arizona couldn't resist teasing and Callie barked a loud laughter at the sheer shock on Mark's face at supposedly sweet and innocent Arizona's statement.

"You can't do that blondie! Jesus… you've only been with Cal for two days and your already using sex against her like some kind of… of… naughty vixen who uses sex to get people to do what they want!" Mark was genuinely shocked and his face only served to amuse Arizona further.

"Hey, oddball! She doesn't need sex to make me spill, it will help but she doesn't need it" Callie snorted as Mark snapped his eyes to meet chocolate and glared at her in horror.

"Why?!... Just... Why!" Mark whined.

"I warned you to quit calling her blondie" Callie laughed.

"Oddball… why oddball?… there has to be a good story behind oddball!" Arizona bounced in her chair excitedly.

"Mark had to have a procedure done because only one of his balls dropped during puberty but the specialist made him wait two whole years to see if it would drop on its own and of course the kids at school saw it in the showers and flew with it… and so oddball was born" Callie winked at Arizona and ignored Marks protests and complaints.

"Calliope its ten past seven, was I not clear about being in my office at seven sharp?" Carlos snapped as he strode into the kitchen and glared at his daughter who was having way too much fun for someone who was meant to be in his office looking contrite and recieving her bollocking by now.

"Mr T, she's calling me oddball again" Mark whined petulantly and Callie could only scoff at his pathetic attempt at getting her in trouble.

"He started it" Callie mimicked Mark's childish tone pointedly.

"Calliope! What have I told you about that! How would you feel if only one breast developed and people walked around pointing fingers and calling you oddboob" Carlos reprimanded as Mark flicked her the finger while he wasn't looking whilst sporting a shit eating grin.

"Thanks for backing me up Mr T, you're the breast" Mark smirked as Callie laughed loudly as Carlos spun to glare at him incredulously.

"Your both immature buffoons and need to grow up!" Carlos sighed before pointing a finger in his daughters direction "you get to my office and wipe that smile off of your face!" Carlos turned his point at Mark. "you go and do some work for once and stop acting a fool and you, yes you smirking behind that coffee cup like I can't see you… don't you have some permits for your community center to file before I change my mind and actually rip it down after all?" Carlos pointed at Arizona who's smirk quickly dropped and her eyes bulged.

"Don't let him bully you baby" Callie winked at Arizona as she dropped a simple kiss to her forehead. "fight the man baby, show him who the real boss is"

"If I were you I would get your ass to my office before I show YOU who the real boss Calliope!" Carlos glared as his daughter in frustration.

"You both heard that right? You heard that threat he just spat at me? Go and write it down for me to use when I sue Daddy's ass for being a buzz kill" Callie teased as she began walking backwards towards the door as Mark and Arizona scoffed behind their hands in a pitiful attempt to hide their amusement.

"Well I'll counter sue you for all the stress you've given me over the years young lady!" Carlos retorted proudly.

"First of all… if you want to hide the stress I will happily buy you a wig… second of all that was a lame comeback. Now are you coming to give me my compulsory bollocking or are you just going to stand around in the kitchen all day while everyone else runs our company for you" Callie smirked and Carlos could help but laugh as he shook his head at her antics and followed her out the door.

"Remind me why I haven't fired you yet!" Carlos scoffed.

"Because Daddy… you need me. Your smile isn't as photogenic!" Callie laughed.

"You realize what you have let yourself in for with those two right?" Mark quizzed with a warm smile as the door closed behind the two Torres'. He was just happy that all was right in the world of Torres Industries, Carlos and Callie were taking shots at each other and accepting them in jest, Arizona was sticking around which meant Callie's smile would be sticking around as well, and when his best friend was happy and in a good place, that meant his days were a lot lighter and his work was a lot easier. Yes, right now everything in the world was just right.

"I know… and I wanted to say thank you for your little… pep talk… I know you didn't have to say anything... I know you Callie will probably be pissed that you did, but truly Mark... thank you for kicking my ass into shape, to think I almost let her slip through my fingers because I was too chicken... I just... Thank you Mark, I owe you and I know you didn't do it for me, I know it was all for Cal, but I love you for it and I didn't tell her that you spoke to me because I thought you would want to tell her that you spoke to me for yourself so you can deal with her outburst first hand" Arizona offered a small smile before crossing the room and pulling the tall man into an awkward hug.

"Thanks… I'll talk to her later… I appreciate you not throwing me to the tiger... just when comes bitching about me betraying her confidence and sticking my nose in where it's not welcome, please remind her that I love her and that I only did it to protect her and help her and it was only because the whole situation was getting out of hand because you were both acting like morons, that I stepped in" Mark smiled a soft smile that Arizona had never seen before and she suddenly realized that like Callie, Mark had his own soft side that he didn't let just anyone see.

"Don't worry oddball, when she comes to me complaining about you I will have your back and tell her to play nice with you! I just... I didn't want to let it go without thanking you because what you did for me, and for me and Cal... you really went above and beyond. Your a good guy Mark... a really good guy and if it wasn't for you I would probably still be acting like a moron and running away from Cal... I will never be able to repay you for that" Arizona smiled as she stepped away from Mark and moved to start making two fresh coffee's

"Anytime blondie, anytime and there is nothing to repay, just keep making her eyes light up that way, and keep making her laugh because seeing her this happy really just makes me so happy... oh and can we not let the whole oddball thing slip out in front of anyone else? I know Cal finds it hilarious to wind me up about it, but it's actually really embarrassing" Mark finished with pleading eyes.

"Sure thing… I won't promise not to bribe you to keep it quiet though" Arizona winked teasingly over her shoulder.

"Sorry Arizona... Mark. Carlos just called down and asked me to come and remind you both that he isn't paying you to sit and gossip like two old women and that you both need to get to work pronto" Pippa smirked as she entered the kitchen.

"Ring him back and tell him to suck it" Mark scoffed and crossed his arms adamantly.

"Right away Mark, shall I tell him that you are going to get some work done before or after I tell him to suck it?" Pippa scoffed.


	37. Chapter 37

"What… and that's all he said?" Mark asked in disbelief as he eased back into the comfortable couch in Callie's luxurious office.

"Yup… I know right… I thought it was weird too… do you think it's some kind of trick? Should I be worried that he is up to something?" Callie asked cautiously as she handed Mark a crystal glass with a finger of scotch before sitting down herself and taking a first sip of her own scotch.

"I think Esme slipped something in his morning coffee!" Mark scoffed. "didn't he tell you on Friday that he would be billing you for all the amendments and was going to make you pay back what you spent on the company card?"

"Yeah that's what I don't understand… why say one thing and then change your mind? When have you ever known my Dad to change his mind where money is concerned" Callie asked seriously.

"Mija, I see you took our meeting seriously and are working hard for a change" Carlos scoffed as he entered his daughter's office to find her practically laid lounging on the couch chatting without a care in the world.

"Daddy I can't focus. You need to tell me the truth… why did you change your mind between Friday morning and this morning… and don't you dare tell me to just say thank you and not do it again… I need answers!" Callie whined.

"Why does it matter Mija?" Carlos asked seriously as he poured himself a finger of scotches and joined the duo on the couches with the decanter which was placed on the coffee table between them.

"I can't explain why it matters so much, it just does… please just tell me what changed your mind" Callie pleaded and battered her eyelashes sweetly.

"You changed my mind Mija… you were right the whole time and I was too focused on the dollar signs and completely ignored everything else. You made a promise to Arizona, and that promise gained us the project, I should never have tried to go against that promise. T.I. was never meant to be just a money maker, it's a family business and it has values which I turned my back on and it took you kicking my ass to remember what those values were" Carlos took a small sip of his scotch before laughing at the two slacked jaws and wide eyes pointing at him.

"Look… I know you think I'm a god Calliope but I'm only human I make mistakes too, what's important is that I own up to my mistakes and fix them or make amends. My mistake was to only consider finances in my decision… I took the decision away from you because I didn't think you could look at it objectively and instead I made a decision based on one thing, and that was wrong of me. We should have discussed it together and made a joint decision and like YOU said we should have been looking at how our decision would impact the economy, and the urban area, and the facility users, and the public image. We did promise to keep community center and you were right I did teach you to keep your word, just as your Abuelo taught me the same lesson. I should have seen all this a lot sooner" Carlos offered wisely.

"What make you realize it though?" Mark asked with interest, Carlos Torres was not a man to concede defeat or admit to fault, he was a great man, a better father to him than his own biological father could ever dream to be, he was an outstanding mentor... but he was stubborn as a goat.

"Honestly son? Yesterday when the love birds arrived to pick the boys up for their day out… I saw how happy they were together, how happy Arizona makes my little girl… and then I watched three of my four children hang off of Arizona's every word like she is the answer to every single question in the world… the three of them are besotted with her and it made me think that perhaps I had put money before family... and then I realized that Arizona is such a honest, kind and sweet person and the boys especially can sense that in her… then I thought about the things Calliope had told me about Arizona as she was yelling at me and I just thought… if there is ever a time to switch up how your doing business then it's now… Arizona deserves that community center. She bends every which way for everyone else and never asks for a dime in return… this is the only thing she has ever been selfish about I think… it was the right thing to do" Carlos advised.

"She is pretty great… for someone Cal is interested in anyway" Mark mocked.

"Oh I know son… it's like she's had a blow to the head and can finally see eligible women" Carlos snorted.

"Sitting right here!" Callie whined causing the two men in her life to bark out laughter.

"Next time you think I need a lesson Mija… don't do it with the credit cards ok, it's not fair to the people who rely on us to pay their wages every week... if I'm wrong scream and shout and do whatever you need, just keep the company finances out of" Carlos chided as he poured another finger in each of the three glasses.

"Yes Daddy" Callie smiled sweetly.

"Cal did you forget to give…" Arizona stopped in her tracks as she looked up from the file she was reading to see the three most senior people in the company lounging in Callie's office drinking scotch at one in the afternoon. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting" Arizona smirked knowingly.

"Come in and shut the door blondie before anyone else spots us relaxing for a minute and starts hounding us" Mark scoffed.

"I would love to… however someone forgot to find Alex on Thursday and didn't give him the message and now I have the environmental agency on my back saying that 'The Wharf' is a no go because the demolition of the old building is going to create too much pollution in the waterways… which makes me question if they even know about the amended proposal for the environmentally friendly removal technique that we wanted to trial" Arizona eyed Callie suspiciously as the brunette smiled guiltily and shrank into her seat.

"Any confessions to make Calliope?" Arizona prompted when Callie remained silent. "Nothing at all that you want to add here?"

"In my defense… I was looking for Alex but Erica cornered me and wouldn't shut up and I forget and then you started stomping around in a jealous rage, and then Mark reminded me and as I got up to go find Alex again and Daddy called and dropped his bombshell and after that my every thought was in fixing it and looking for a way to keep the community center" Callie sighed.

"So you admit, you did forget to do the ONLY thing I asked you to do, and to do it as a priority?" Arizona asked carefully as she fought to keep her face straight.

"Well technically yes but I did manage to get the… you know what I give up, yes Arizona I forget… hand it over" Callie frowned, it was obvious that Arizona wasn't buying her excuse so why bother, nothing got past her girlfriend when it came to work.

"Hand over what?" Arizona smirked.

"My punishment… whatever it is just hand it over and get it over with" Callie smiled when Arizona laughed and shook her head.

"Nice try! How about you get off your ass and go find Alex and get things sorted so the paperwork can be submitted before it's too late to fix it and you get another bollocking from your dad because he has a block of land he can't build a tent on!" Arizona raised an eyebrow when Callie remained seated and smirked at her, instantly Callie jumped up with a sigh and marched towards Arizona, grabbing the file and making her way to find Alex.

"Oh Calliope?" Arizona smiled sweetly as she watched the brunette's ass swaying out the door without shame.

"Yeah?" Callie asked, waiting for more orders.

"Don't get lost on your way to find Alex this time" Arizona winked to show she was just playing around.

"Why don't YOU get lost!" Callie shot back over her shoulder as she stepped up her pace to escape her frustratingly adorable girlfriend.

"Calliope?" Arizona called again, smirking when Callie stopped in place and spun to look at her girlfriend expectantly.

"You may want to put a bit of spice in your step, tick tock!" Arizona grinned, laughing when Callie's middle finger saluted her before she marched away with purpose.

"Nicely done blondie, I don't think I have ever seen Cal move so fast!" Mark smirked as Carlos nodded his agreement before motioning for Arizona to join them.

"Thanks oddball, you just have to know how to handle her" Arizona grinned as she dropped into Callie's vacated chair and picked up the half drunk scotch and sipped at it. She couldn't help but laugh as she saw Mark glancing at Carlos hopefully with a pout on his lips.

"Don't look at me like that son, if you call her blondie then she get's to call you oddball!" Carlos scoffed before chinking his glass against 'Arizona's' glass. "and that pout and fluttering of the eyebrows has no effect on me"


	38. Chapter 38

"So when do we think this first date will end?" Callie grinned as she curled up on her couch with Arizona's arms wrapped around her protectively after handing her a beer.

"Who said it has to end... we can just be on our first date for the rest of our lives" Arizona suggested before kissing the side of Callie's hair and lingering close to enjoy the scent that invaded her senses so heavenly.

"The rest of our lives? My Arizona, it doe's sounds like I am growing on you!" Callie smirked, knowing full well that it was the understatement of the year, she had definitely grown on the blonde over the last year.

"You may have grown on me just a little! Considering we haven't been apart for like three days straight, I think you may actually have grown onto me" Arizona teased as she tugged Callie closer to her body.

"Are you complaining... because I can always just go and sit over there" Callie scoffed as she pointed to the other end of the corner shaped couch and Arizona tugged her impossibly closer and held into place with strong arms.

"Don't you dare move, your all warm and comfortable, like a big giant teddy bear" Arizona cooed as she nuzzled Callie's cheek and laid several feather light kisses to the warm caramel flesh in reach as Callie scoffed in amusement, there is not a chance she would let anyone but the blonde get away with saying a comment like that.

"Admit it... you're addicted" Callie sang as she turned her face and sighed as their lips met in a sweet kiss, deciding to not argue the point. The fact was, it doesn't matter what Arizona said, as long as she was wrapped around her – or vice versa, she wasn't fussy – the blonde could pull any sickeningly sweet name she could on her, and she would grin and take it.

"I'm definitely addicted but your ego is already big enough without me reminding you and making it any bigger" the blonde giggled when she felt Callie playfully elbow her ribs.

"You complain... but if I remember rightly, me and my 'big ego' managed to get you to fall in love with me, so I will take that as a compliment" Callie grinned triumphantly.

"It did indeed... as much as I loathe to admit it, your big ego and charm of a pig, managed to get under my skin and if your not careful your head will get too big and we won't be spooning tonight because I won't be able to fit in the bed" Arizona scoffed as her fingers found the bottom hem of Callie's shirt and danced between the smooth material and the caramel flesh hidden below.

"Don't even tease me with that, I don't know how I am ever going to be able to sleep without spooning you... it's my new favorite position to be in, In bed" Callie sighed dramatically just at the thought.

"Oh really... big bad Callie Torres is admitting her favorite position in bed is spooning, I bet that's new" Arizona teased as her lips enclosed around Callie's earlobe and sucked softly, smirking when Callie shivered in delight at the sensations running through her.

"You have no idea, Callie Torres doesn't do sleepovers so I hope you feel special" Callie offered as her eyes slammed shut at the feel of Arizona's tongue flicking over her earlobe several times before she sucked it one final time and tugged at it until she released it with a pop.

"You have no idea how special I feel right now" Arizona admitted huskily as she laid butterfly kisses around the shell of Callie's ear. "Being here with you in my arms and being able to kiss you and touch you and smell you, feels pretty special to me... thank you for not hating me for jerking you around"

"Baby, I could never hate you, even when you pissed me off and hurt me I still couldn't hate you and I'm glad that you feel special because you are special to me... very special but pretty soon we do need to have a conversation about everything that happened last week because there are some things I would like to say to you" Callie admitted nervously.

"Whatever you have to say I will listen baby, I know I hurt you a lot... do you want to talk about it now and get it out of the way?" Arizona offered with her heart in her mouth as she rested her cheek against Callie's shoulder and released a shuddering breath.

"I don't want to pop our bubble" Callie admitted nervously.

"You won't... we won't... whatever you have to say I deserve, I was a jack ass and I promise not to hold it against you when you tell me I'm a selfish bitch" Arizona laughed mirthlessly.

"Hey, quit calling my girlfriend a bitch! I just... I guess I'm disappointed... in you. I really thought you knew me better than to know that I would just discard a promise based on something so important to you, I suppose I'm really hurt that you didn't trust me enough to even give me enough credit to consider that I had nothing to do with Daddy's plan to rip your center down and I am still a little angry that you wouldn't even allow me the opportunity to explain myself, you just shut me down like I didn't deserve the right to defend myself, like my voice wasn't important, and I get that we weren't together then... but you were my friend Arizona and as your friend I think I deserved a little more respect even though you were mad" Callie sighed and Arizona could feel the tension building in the brunettes muscles.

"You're right... I'm an idiot, and I'm stubborn and when I lose my temper I have no awareness of anything other than my own issue" Arizona confessed sadly.

"Baby, I get it... you were hurt and you were upset and you were in shock... but still... you can't just push me away and run away from me... not now anyway, if you want me to be your girlfriend then next time your mad with me you have to let me have a voice, even if you don't want to hear it, even if I'm in the wrong and have nothing to say for myself... I at least need to have a voice" Callie offered a little defensively.

"Calliope, I'm sorry and I promise from now on you will always have a voice, whether I'm mad or your mad or we are mad with each other... I can't promise to always just stand still while you have that voice and listen, I am stubborn and an idiot, but I promise you I'm going to try and do better and let you have your say" Arizona pressed her lips against Callie's shoulder and closed her eyes against the tears that were stinging as they threatened to fall. She felt terrible hearing how much she had hurt and upset Callie, the anger she could deal with... everyone get's angry at their friends or partners sometimes... but to know she had hurt Callie was not ok.

"Ok... and what about the whole walking away and not giving us a try, thing? Did you have anything you wanted to add to that?" Callie asked nervously, just wanted to get everything out on the table so they could put it to bed and move on.

"I was wrong, and an idiot, and a chicken... honestly I was listening to all those wonderful things you were saying and not only did I feel like I wasn't worthy of them... I just... it's like I could foresee the future and on the left hand I could see this, what we have right now just hanging out and laughing together and everything being amazing and the future having so much promise but on the right hand was me and all my baggage, and you and all your baggage and it all just disintegrating around us and losing you completely... I don't want that Calliope, I may joke about how much you drive me nuts but having you in my life is just... I... I don't want to find out what life is without you being in it anymore and the prospect of that happening scared me, and instead of being brave and taking a chance like you did, I ran away with my tail between my legs" Callie could feel Arizona's head shaking against her shoulder and her heart went out to the blonde, she hated having to hurt her by bringing this all up, but she needed to have her say, she needed Arizona to understand that how she had reacted wasn't ok with her. But she hated that the pain in the blondes voice was because of her, nut if she wanted a future with the blonde, they both needed to understand what was acceptable and what was expected in the future.

"But you were brave enough to follow me into the toilets at work because I was upset... that count's for something too baby" Callie offered positively before scrunching her nose. "Our first kiss was in a toilet at work... that's a really crappy story to tell people when they ask"

"But it's our story, I love our story... but if you can forgive me for being a giant ass hat... then we could always have a second first kiss right now?" Arizona asked hopefully, but Callie could tell that the usual confidence and perkiness was missing from the usually delightful voice.

"Not forgiving you was never an option... that's not why I wanted to talk to you about this, I didn't want you to feel bad or feel guilty... I wanted us to clear the air and for you to understand how your actions made me feel so that next time something happens we don't have a repeat... please don't be sad baby... can we just smile and have that second first kiss?" Callie begged.

"I can't help but be sad... I love you and you are very important to me even when you were just my friend Cal, knowing that I hurt you makes me sad, knowing that I upset you makes me sad, knowing that I treated you with such little respect and made you feel like you don't have a voice makes me sad because you deserve so much better than that, and I know I can't change it but I promise I am going to do everything I can to make it up to you and make sure it doesn't happen again. You have a beautiful voice Cal and you deserve to be respected and be heard, at least by your friends and your girlfriend"

"That's all I ask for baby... now, are you going to keep talking or can we get to the kissing part already?" Callie smirked.

"kissing... less talking, much, MUCH more kissing!" Arizona agreed with a little forced peppiness that didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. "The only problem is... my lips are here and your lips are all the way over there where I can't reach them!"

Callie grinned as she turned slightly to capture Arizona's lips over her shoulder, sighing contently into the kiss as it deepened as she felt the blondes tongue enter her mouth and tasted Arizona's flavor mixed with the wine.

"I love kissing you" Callie murmered as she shuffled to get more comfortable before pulling Arizona back into another kiss by the back of her neck.

"The feeling is mutual" Arizona grinned in between pecks before deepening the kiss again. As their tongues began to explore each other almost teasingly, hands began to do a little exploring of their own and Callie smiled as her body trembled at the sensation and her flesh hummed at the feeling of Arizona's warm fingers caressing the base of her spine underneath her t-shirt.

"Cold?" Arizona asked softly before reclaiming Callie's lips and refusing her the ability to actually answer, so Callie shook her head instead her own hands finding their way under Arizona's t-shirt and stroking soft patterns on the blondes upper hip. Arizona moaned into the kiss when she felt those long warm fingers massaging her flesh, it felt like heaven and sent a flutter through every nerve ending in her body.

"Do you have any idea what the sound of your moan does to me?" Callie muttered dreamily as she began to pepper kisses over Arizona's jaw, grinning as the blonde closed her eyes, released a contented sigh and tilted her head, hinting for Callie to move her kisses south to her needy and desperate throat.

"No idea at all..." Arizona gasped as plump red lips finally made contact with her neck and she felt her entire body react. "why don't you enlighten me?" Arizona husked flirtily as she craned her neck further to provide Callie with more access for her heavenly assault however Callie's lips haltered upon hearing Arizona's request as her eyes opened and she studied the blondes face with a sneaky smile.

"What?" Arizona groaned in displeasure that Callie's sweet attack had stopped, she opened her eyes to glance at the brunette, chocolate and cerulean eyes meeting.

"Your just full of surprises" Callie muttered before she began to nuzzle the blondes jaw and peppering kisses that edged closer to Arizona's ear.

"What does that mean?" Arizona gasped as her eyes slammed shut at the sensation of Callie's soft butterfly kisses but all she received was a shrug as Callie's lips edged closer to her ear teasingly.

"When you moan... it lights my entire body of fire like I have been soaked in an excellerant, I literally feel every single nerve ending jump to life in reaction to it because your moans sound devine, it's one of my favorite sounds and I long to just make you moan more and more" Callie whispered quietly in Arizona's ear, just far enough for her breath to wash over the flesh before running her tongue teasingly over the shell and taking the lobe into her mouth and sucking on it gently and tugging it till she released it with a pop. Arizona released a long deep moan at the action, her stomach clenching as the desire roared through her without abandon.

"And when you moan just like that, it makes it impossibly hard for me to not just ignore our idea of taking things slow because it makes me want to strip every single piece of fabric from your body so that I can run my lips over every inch of you till I discover every single spot that makes you moan, that makes you groan, that makes you gasp and that makes you squirm so that I can revisit them over and over, you have no idea how much I long to have all of you Arizona, to feel your body pressed against mine without any barriers, to feel your body react to my every touch, to see just how loud I can make you moan as my tongue explores..."

"Shit... Fuck... Callie if you don't stop that, you are going to be finding out way sooner than you plan" Arizona gasped as her hands gripped at Callie's hips in an attempt to ground herself. She could feel the desire building between her legs, she could feel her heat beginning to rage as ivory hips involuntarily began to roll ever so slightly in response to Callie's teasing.

"Do you realize how tempting that is to me, it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull... a very hot and sexy red flag to a very horny and turned on bull" Callie smirked as she buried her face into the crook of Arizona's neck and attempted to reign in her own raging libido, she wasn't kidding about being very horny and turned on.

"You started it" Arizona laughed softly as she cupped caramel cheeks with her ivory hands and dragged her face into a searing kiss.

"You are killing me here, do you know how hard this is for me to hold back?" Callie groaned against thin pink lips that giggled in response.

"It's not exactly a walk in the park for me either you know" Arizona confessed with a flirty wink which only served to make Callie groan in frustration.

"I actually do know, I can feel your heat against me which is just making this even bit harder! Maybe we should go for a cold shower!" Callie suggested, knowing if she didn't do something, her plan of taking her time to build the foundations of their budding relationship before they got carried away with the physical and more entertaining aspects.

"Right because getting naked together in a shower with cold water that's going to make things goose pimpled and erect is going to help us out" Arizona scoffed whilst Callie groaned again.

"I meant we should both have a cold shower alone, but now you've just put really good images in my head which has just made this even worse... did you do that on purpose?" Callie whined as she eyed a smug looking blonde.

"You said WE should go for a cold shower, of course I imagined that it would be together" Arizona smirked.

"Fucking hell... stop it! Your killing me!" Callie shrieked dramatically much to Arizona's amusement.

"So on a scale of yes or no... is this moment worse than your little panty party at the game?" Arizona laughed.

"You are never going to let me forget that are you?" Callie asked with a pout.

"Absolutely not... I don't know who walked away from that game more turned on, you or me" Arizona confessed.

"Definitely me! You have no idea how fast I made the driver get me back here" Callie scoffed.

"Oh really... and why was that Calliope?" Arizona grinned as Callie squirmed when she realized what she had just implied and that knowing Arizona, she would never let it go.

"Ummm... use your imagination, I'm sure you will work it out" Callie teased through her embarrassment.

"Are you blushing whilst talking about sex Callie Torres?... well this is new" Arizona grinned triumphantly when Callie's blush deepened but she made no effort to hide herself.

"Shut up! Anyway, now I get to find out if you have tried the party panties out for yourself yet" Callie grinned wickedly.

"Hah... what makes you think that?" Arizona scoffed.

"Because I'm your girlfriend so you have to tell me things like that" Callie offered with a shit eating grin.

"Oh like you just told me why you were in such a rush to get home after the game?" Arizona raised a mocking eyebrow.

"You already know that I was in a rush to get back here to finish the job that YOU accidentally started" Callie raised an eyebrow of her own making her not so subtle implication crystal clear.

"How was it my fault?" Arizona laughed as she kissed Callie's cheek with innocence.

"Ummm you knocked the bag off my lap which turned the stupid thing on" Callie scoffed after turning her face to capture the lips that were still pressed against her cheek.

"Stupid thing? Didn't look like you were calling it a stupid thing when you were moaning and gasping in front of thousands of people" Arizona reminded with a twinkle of mirth in her eyes.

"I was not moaning and gasping, and how would you even know, you were too busy thinking up puns to mock me to pay attention to how I was suffering" Callie rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Like you wouldn't have done the same if the shoe was on the other foot" Arizona offered with a challenging eyebrow.

"But the shoe wasn't on the other foot, and you were mean and made fun of me" Callie pouted playfully.

"Oh my poor baby, what can I ever do to make it up to you?" Arizona cooed as she began to pepper kisses all over Callie's face.

"Well I can think of two options, but seen as one of them is off the table for now, how about you answer my earlier question" Callie smirked triumphantly.

"What question?" The blonde asked without interest as she continued her assault of kissing every place on Callie's face.

"Whether you have used it yet... I didn't ask any other questions" Callie reminded as if trying to catch the blonde out in avoiding the topic.

"Dammit, you only forget the important things don't you?" Arizona asked as she pulled back and eyed her girlfriend who was looking back with a proud smirk.

"When it comes to you and sex... and you with sex, I will never forget a thing" Callie winked flirtily causing Arizona to bark out a hearty laugh.

"Fine! if you really MUST know... yes" Arizona blushed deeply.

"Really... and your first impression was?" Callie asked genuinely, not a trace of flirting or smugness in her deep husky voice.

"None of your business" Arizona offered with a squint, telling Callie that she wouldn't be gaining the answer anytime soon.

"Oh come on that's not fair... you know what my impression was because you saw it first hand" the brunette laughed.

"That is very true, and it is something that will be etched in my memory for a very, very long time" Arizona confided with glazed eyes full of arousal.

"You play dirty Arizona"

"Oh Calliope, you have no idea how dirty I can be" Callie felt a solid distinct throbbing erupt between her legs at the flirty hint her girlfriend had just given her, oh how she wanted to find out how dirty the blonde could be. She had spent months trying to supress the thoughts, but In the last 48 hours her attempts had been in vain and all she could think about was what it would be like to finally be intimate with the blonde.

"Oh really? Well this is certainly a topic I can enjoy, so tell me... how dirty can you be?" Callie asked casually, hoping her disinterested tone would encourage the blonde to divulge.

"How about we keep that as a surprise for you to find out in your own time" Arizona grinned, knowing exactly what her girlfriend was trying to do.

"You suck"

"And you need to cool down" Arizona smirked as she could feel the throbbing from Callie's sex vibrating through her own body.

"Maybe we should take that shower?" Callie offered half heartedly, knowing it was never going to happen, but right now her sense of 'taking it slow' was losing the battle to her libido.

"Not happening! But nice try" Arizona smiled sweetly and placed a chaste kiss on plump pouting lips.

"What if we have a rule of no touching?" Callie offered but couldn't keep the laughter of her own suggestion at bay.

"A rule... Callie I know you! Isn't your middle name 'rules are meant to be broken'?" Arizona mocked Callie's voice, parroting the line Callie had offered her many, many times over their working relationship.

"Nope... my middle name is 'I promise you wont regret it'!" Callie retorted smoothly with a suggestive wink.

"Oh god... you really are a pig" Arizona giggled.

"But I'm your pig... all yours for as long as you will put up with me" Callie offered seriously and she couldn't help but grin at the dreamy smile that graced the pale face she was falling more in love with.

"If you play your cards right that may be a very long time" Arizona replied and nuzzled Callie's nose affectionately.

"Oh baby, you have no idea how good I am at cards... in fact let me show you, fancy a game of poker?" Callie offered innocently, but Arizona could see the smirk the brunette was trying so hard to hide itching at the corners of her lips and sparkling in her chocolate brown eyes.

"You're a pervert" Arizona finally offered with a shake of her head.

"What? Why?" The brunette mocked shock.

"Let me just play this conversation out... fancy a game of poker... sure... awesome, it's strip poker... was I close" Arizona offered with a knowing raised eyebrow and laughed when Callie pouted.

"God you really do have a dirty mind, I wasn't even thinking that" Callie tried and failed to bluff.

"Sure you weren't" Arizona grinned as she buried her face in the crook of Callie's neck and inhaled the scent of heaven that she found.

"I wasn't, but if you want to play strip poker, who am I to deny you?" Callie grinned, and had Arizona been looking, she would have seen the flash of mischief in the eyes she loved so much.

"I don't want to play strip poker" Arizona muffled, the movement of her lips as she spoke caused a shiver to erupt through the caramel body from top to bottom.

"So you don't want to get me naked?" Callie asked in that hurt child voice she did when she was trying to get thing's her own way, something Arizona had fallen prey to so many times that she now knew it's sound intimately.

"I see what your doing here, you've fooled me this way before, it won't happen again Calliope" Arizona laid a gentle kiss to the flesh laid before her lips and pulled back to see the mischief she was expecting in Callie's expressive eyes.

"So you don't want to get me naked? Wow... and there I was thinking we were holding off to do things right, not because you don't want to see what I have hidden under all these clothes" Callie scoffed and pouted harder.

"I know what you have hidden, I have seen all of your body parts at some point picasso pussy" Arizona smirked triumphantly with a wink as Callie blushed softly.

"Shit... that's not fair!" Came the brunette's whine which only caused to widen Arizona's triumphant smirk.

"You have seen me exposed" Arizona offered as a consolation prize.

"Yeah with an old woman between your legs wearing latex gloves and a mask... that's not sexy! Plus you got a tit shot and I didn't" Callie whined even more and it melted Arizona at how adorable the brunette could be.

"Technically I got two tit shots because you sent me a photo with all the popcorn in your bra... which is saved on my phone by the way... thank you for that" Arizona grinned mischievously.

"Wow... I'm seeing all kinds of different sides to you tonight! If I were to look on your phone would I find photos of other women's breasts?" Callie glared at her girlfriend, and although she was joking, the thought alone turned her stomach a little.

"None that involve popcorn, anyway your one to talk... I bet if I looked on your phone I would find some pictures that would make me want to slap you with your phone" Arizona raised a challenging eyebrow, warning the brunette not to bother lying, she had personally seen some of the photo's some of Callie's skanks had sent whilst working on Callie's phone.

"Yeah actually you are probably right... maybe I should format my phone... OUCH" Callie pouted as Arizona playfully slapped her arm and glared at her pointedly.

"You had better be joking Calliope!" Arizona warned in that sexy school teacher voice that always sent a shiver of arousal through the brunette.

"I am, I am... I cleaned my phone out months ago thank you and anything that has come through since gets deleted straight away" Callie informed her seriously, knowing that she didn't want any misunderstandings here. Not that Arizona would ever betray her by snooping, but she knew Arizona could easily get access to her phone to check if she wanted to, and knowing Callie's luck it would be whilst she was busy and hadn't noticed a sext offer or a dirty photo being sent, she didn't want any misunderstandings like that, no way!

"Hang on... are you telling me you get women randomly sending you nudes? Still!" Arizona screeched in horror.

"Ummmm...OUCH quit slapping me!" Callie laughed as Arizona playfully slapped her again with the most adorable pout and squint she had ever seen.

"Who are these women and where do they live?" The blonde asked slowly and seriously.

"Oh jealous Arizona is back, I LOVE jealous Arizona... she is mega hot" Callie teased affectionately and although Arizona was tempted to pull back and avoid the sweet kiss Callie was leaning in for, she didn't, instead she accepted it with a slight smile before straightening her face and trying to look stern again.

"Calliope! I want names and I want the number for the Torres hitman" Arizona pouted once the kiss was over and Callie scoffed.

"You know he doesn't exist right.. It was just a joke, we don't have a hitman on the books!" Callie grinned as Arizona sighed dramatically.

"Fine I will hire my own hitman" Arizona smiled sweetly, but the jealousy was still evident in her darkened eyes. Interesting... turquoise when aroused, baby blue as normal, navy when angry and royal blue when jealous. Callie made a mental note for the future... that bit of information could come in handy!

"Baby your so cute, would it make you feel better if I get my number changed so none of the women I don't have to see professionally have my number" Callie offered seriously, it was something she had already debated but she had figured eventually people would get the hint and just stop messaging her.

"Yes, and it's very sweet of you to offer... wait... oh god, don''t tell me there are people I know that you have slept with?" Arizona groaned as her mind began to run at a mile a minute of all the women they both knew and who had seen her girlfriend naked, and had touched her. A deep wave of jealousy ran through her at the thought of any woman but her being allowed to touch the stunning brunette.

"Ummm... OUCH! Stop slapping me!" Callie laughed loudly as Arizona slapped her again, for the third time, in a spot that was now feeling a little tender from all of the blondes 'playful' slaps.

"Urgh! Now im going to be looking at every woman I come into contact with at work and wondering if they have seen you naked!" Arizona whined.

"You've seen me naked" Callie offered sheepishly, with a sad smile. It was times like this moment where she really dispised her past lifestyle, even if she had enjoyed it at the time.

"But that different, I'm your girlfriend! They have seen you naked and need their eyes burning in their skulls!" Arizona pouted sadly.

"God your adorable" Callie cooed as she literally melted on the spot at how such a threatening statement could sound so cute.

"Stop trying to butter me up, I don't like that people I work with have seen your boobs!" The blonde whined childishly.

"There happy now?" Callie asked as she tugged her t-shirt off and threw it on the floor, smirking as Arizona's jaw dropped and her eyes bulged as they dropped to her naked chest.

"Are you trying to distract me by thrusting your boobs in my face?" Arizona stuttered around her thick dry tongue.

"Umm im not thrusting them in your face, but I can if it will make you feel better" Callie offered with a playful smirk.

"Put your shirt back on! I was just calming down!" Arizona stated, but the tone of her voice belied that she was enjoying the view and didn't really want it covering back up.

"Make me" Callie mocked, enjoying the pure want that was staring so intently at her breasts that she could feel her flesh tingling with anticipation.

"Put it back on, your killing me" Arizona breathed with absolutely no authority or demand in her voice, just a pathetic whine as she fought her own internal battle to not reach forward and take the weight of those caramel breasts in her hands. She bit down hard on her lip in an effort to shake herself of her arousal filled haze and control herself.

"No it's all the way over there and I'm too lazy, anyway im comfortable" Callie shrugged mischievously as the throbbing between her legs intensified as she watched Arizona nibble hard on her bottom lip. Even if the turquoise eyes hadn't given away the blondes desire, nor the breathless whine hadn't given up the blonde's true want, the way she bit on that gorgeous lip with such vigor gave the blonde away completely, and Callie had never felt sexier or more confident in her own body as she had right now, knowing that just the sight of her bare breasts was having this effect on the blonde.

"What about taking it slowly?" Arizona breathed barely audibly.

"I'm not doing anything... you're the one that is having issues controlling herself" Callie winked with a flirty smile.

"Oh trust me, my self control is getting a really big workout tonight" Arizona scoffed quietly as she licked her lips and felt a faint metallic taste as she swiped over the section she had previously been biting down on.

Callie lifted her hand to her neck before running the back of her fingers painfully slowly over her collarbone then chest before trailing them through her cleavage making sure to lightly graze the edges of both breasts, her eyes trained on turquoise eyes that were transfixed on her hand and were sparkling deeper by the millisecond.

"Fuck your such a tease!" Arizona moaned and tried to control her breathing, but her eyes never left that hand that was now circling underneath the left breast before trailing over the far side of it, edging closer to a mocha colored nipple. Arizona didn't think she had ever seen such an erotic and arousing sight and her entire body was tingling with excitement and tension as she fought hard not to reach out and take over Callie's movements.

"I don't see you stopping me" Callie offered in a deep husky tone that told Arizona that she wasn't the only one turned on beyond all realms of possibility.

"Put your shirt on" Arizona croaked pleadingly.

"I already told you... make me" Callie mocked.

"Fine" Arizona pouted as she pushed Callie lightly and attempted to stand up to retrieve the shirt but she lost balance and fell onto Callie who was laughing loudly at Arizona face planting her breasts.

"Throwing yourself at me now Arizona?" Callie scoffed as Arizona sat up with glazed eyes and tried her hardest to glare.

"You arent funny" Arizona giggled.

"I'm hilarious and don't you forget it" Callie winked.

"Callie... I'm being serious now, unless you want me to jump you right now on this couch I would strongly advise that you put your shirt back on" Arizona said, her arousal filled haze now broken and her senses returning to her.

"Will you stop being jealous and pouty if I do?" Callie teased as she twirled a strand of golden hair around her finger.

"Promise to still change your number" Callie nodded with a sweet smile, so Arizona continued "then yes... but if I find out who any of these women are at work it's open season!... wait please tell me you've never hooked up with Pip, I like Pip!" Arizona whined and Callie couldn't contain a bark of laughter.

"No baby, I've never hooked up with Pippa" Callie promised and Arizona could see the honestly in those beautiful brown eyes staring at her.

"What about Lois in accounts, she makes good coffee when we have meetings, I don't want to hate her" Arizona asked with a grimace at the thought.

"Are you going to start asking me about every woman in the office now? This could take a while, we have a lot of female employees" Callie mocked softly as she threw her shirt back on before cupping Arizona's cheek and pulled her up to meet her lips in a loving kiss.

"Oh god... your distracting me from the question, you hooked up with Lois" Arizona pouted in disgust.

"No I didn't! Do I need to take my shirt back off and distract you again?" Callie raised her eyebrow.

"Would I get in trouble if I say yes?" Arizona smirked naughtily.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N - Hello readers! I hope you have had a good weekend and I'm sorry that the posts have slowed down however, I am trying to post a chapter or two every week consistently whilst I settle into my new routine at work (for those guests who have asked who I cant reply to personally - I am loving it so far and am LOVING being back in the work place after five long years of struggling to find solid work that my visa's would allow me to do). I am still working on how to merge the storyline of the slowburn annoying boss-zilla/emotionally damaged overworked employee into what I have planned for the future. The latest chapter I have written has been a ginormous struggle for me, I have debated just deleting it several times and trying to move on but have spent several dozen hours working and reworking it and it has eaten up at my energy and inspiration!

Anyways, here's the next chapter... more 'fluff' as i work towards the changes in storyline. For the reviewer who commented that I'm a tease and you hope they move their relationship to the next level soon... it took 30 chapters for them to get together... surely that alone confirms I am a tease and will continue to torture you all as much as i can at every step of the way... sorry not sorry :p

ALxxx

-oOo-

"Woah Torro turn down the smile, your going to blind me" Mark mocked from somewhere in the office as the new power couple of Torres Industries exited the lift.

"Suck it Sloan" Callie scoffed as she flicked him the finger as he approached them. Professionalism on the office floor was an unknown thing when it came to Mark and Callie, that was the first lesson any new employee learned.

"I keep telling you, if you want to suck it go right ahead" Mark wriggled his eyebrows with a shit eating grin and subtly thrust his hips forward.

"Oh I'm pretty sure I misheard that, because I'm certain that you didn't just ask my girlfriend to suck anything of yours" Arizona scoffed playfully as she eyed her girlfriends best friend who blushed slightly.

"Oh Arizona, hey! I didn't see you there, Callies smile must have blinded my peripheral vision!" Mark offered an apologetic smile, much to Callie's amusement... Mark never flustered in front of any of her flings or even with Kara, something that had been a source of endless headache in her relationship and then marriage. No, Kara did not like Mark Sloan, and she did not find his charm or jokes welcome, ever.

"Hmmm..." Arizona squinted at him, trying to hide her smirk and make him sweat.

"Don't worry baby, Sloan has nothing that interests me" Callie grinned, knowing what Arizona was doing, and kissing her sweetly on the cheek.

"Ouch... hit a man where it hurts why don't you... OUCH what the hell Torro" Mark glared when Callie landed a solid punch on his shoulder that was just hard enough to sting.

"You told me to hit you so I did" Callie laughed with a shrug before winking at her best friend who was rubbing his sore shoulder.

"As fun as it is watching you two idiots being children, some of us actually have work to do and Lois will be waiting for me... be good you two" Arizona grinned as she kissed Callie tenderly on the lips before walking further into the office floor towards her office to collect the files she would need for her early morning meeting.

"Wait blondie... where's my kiss? It's not fair to play favoritism" Mark called after her.

"Kiss this" Arizona smirked as she glanced around to make sure she didn't have anyone watching before she flicked her middle finger at Mark who dropped his jaw in mock horror whilst Callie began to laugh loudly.

"See why I love her?" Callie smirked as she dragged Mark towards her office for some privacy for their usual early morning meeting, by meeting she meant a ten minute minimum gossip fest on their previous nights activities.

"I do, she's a lot cooler now that stick isn't lodged so firmly in her cute ass... OUCH!" Callie punched Mark in the exact same spot he had just stopped rubbing and he glared at her in confusion.

"Be nice to my girlfriend asshole" Callie offered with a smile and a shrug.

"I was! I said she's cool now! OUCH! What the hell was that for?" Mark jumped back several steps so there was a good five feet between him and the brunette as he looked at her incredulously.

"Just felt like it!" Callie winked.

-oOo-

"Hey blondie" Mark smiled as he entered the kitchen in search of coffee after finishing his meeting with Carlos.

"Hey oddball, what's wrong did Carlos give you and Callie time out?" Arizona asked noticing the normally smirking man looking a little somber.

"Hah... as if Carlos could stop us!" Mark offered a lopsided smirk.

"Yeah, I definitely agree with that, you two are unstoppable" Arizona grinned as she poured a second cup and offered it to him to cream himself.

"Hey, would it be ok if I asked you a personal question?" Mark finally asked when he stopped stirring the spoon in his cup and glanced sideways at the blonde nervously.

"I'm nervous to allow that, I know you too well" Arizona offered, hoping to cheer her friend up and ease his tension a little.

"Hah, normally I would agree, but this is actually something serious I wanted to talk to you about" Mark barely laughed and Arizona began to worry. She turned around and leaned her hip against the counter, giving her undivided attention to the tall man with a soft smile.

"Oh, ok sure, what's up Mark?"

"About this morning, I umm... Cal and I have been friends for a long time and we have a very open friendship, there isn't much that doesn't get said or done between us, apart from the obvious I mean sure I tried when we were kids but... I don't even look at her in that way anymore, but if it upsets you or offends you, I will try and watch what I say in future I just..." Mark was cut off by Arizona's hand raising between them and he gulped nervously as he nodded for her to interject.

"Let me stop you there! Look I appreciate what your trying to do right now but it's really not necessary I assure you. Look I will admit that I'm not completely comfortable with some of the jokes you two share, but like you said, you and Cal go way back and there is no way that I would try and come between you and try to change the dynamics of your relationship. That's not who I am, I will get used to the banter you two share more with time and if you step out of line I will be sure to tell you when it happens, but you and Cal are like Batman and Robin, you shouldn't change that for anyone and I wouldn't ask you to" Arizona offered earnestly, to say she was surprised that Mark had even approached her about this and she could see his mind mulling over her words behind his steel grey eyes, so she allowed him to take his time to reply.

"Well... ok then. When she was with Kara they would always fight about me, I don't want Cal in that position again so if it bothers you I would rather you said so... she deserves to be happy without getting grief at home because of me" Mark finally said and Arizona's heart strings pulled at the love and respect this man had for her girlfriend, he was a true friend and she had no intent to ever get in the way of that.

"That's exactly why I don't have a problem with it, I know you love her Mark, and she very much loves you too. Neither of you need to hide your friendship from me, I'm just happy that Callie has someone like you in her life... and as for Kara, that stuck up bitch just wanted to change Callie into who she wanted her to be for her own social status, her opinions mean absolutely nothing and never should have!" Arizona smiled softly.

"Right on, you've just been promoted on the list of people I like! I could never stand Kara, Callie was just blind to all the shit she did, I never understood it but the day she told me that she was divorcing her was one of the best days of my life... but more importantly... I'm batman and Callie's robin right?" Mark's usual smirk returned.

"Sure Mark, your Batman!" Arizona laughed as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Yes!... oh hey there she is! Hey Robin!" Mark waved as Callie entered the kitchen to find her two favorite people, and glanced at Mark in confusion at his greeting.

"Mark have you been drinking again?"

"That's Batman to you thanks Robin, and no I was just having a chat with your girl, no time for drinking! I've lined you up for an interview with Ellen on Thursday so pack your bikini your going to LA!"

"What... I don't want to go to LA, make her come here" Callie whined, instantly thinking about having to spend days away from her girl.

"Her studio is in LA Cal, she can't just pack it in her suitcase!" Mark scoffed at Callie's petulance.

"Well cancel then, I don't want to go to LA" Callie folded her arms across her chest and glared at her best friend.

"Tough, it's all arranged your going. Meet me for drinks after work at Joe's and I will brief you on what they are going to be asking" Mark ordered, it was their usual ritual when Callie was going to be doing an interview out of state.

"Nah just leave it on my desk and I will read over it if I MUST go, I'm just going to head home after work" Callie informed him off handedly as she approached her girlfriend and pecked her lips sweetly.

"Are you kidding me!" Mark blanched in horror.

"What I'm not in the mood to go out drinking!" Callie offered as she stole Arizona's cup and started drinking from it. Arizona rolled her eyes and moved to make herself another coffee to replace the stolen one.

"Yes she is and she will meet you at Joe's after work" Arizona ordered over her shoulder.

"I will" Callie asked as she eyed her girlfriend in confusion.

"Yes you will, you are not going to be that girl that blows off her friends to watch Netflix with her girlfriend, go and have some fun! You've been working really hard this week, you need to let your hair down" Arizona told her softly as she stirred in her creamer.

"Best girlfriend ever Torro" Mark nodded at his best friend before winking at the blonde who was laughing at his input.

"I know right" Callie agreed, wrapping her free arm around Arizona's waist and pulling her close.

"Mark, you make sure she behaves!" Arizona ordered teasingly as she winked at her girlfriend who pouted at the implication that she wouldn't behave, teasingly or not.

"Will do blondie, don't worry the strip club has a no touching policy anyway!" Mark smirked and Arizona eyed Mark suspiciously before turning to look at Callie who was looking very guilty.

"You can look but if I smell stripper anywhere on you, I will cut off the offending appendage!" Arizona offered eventually, to a much shocked Callie.

"Best girlfriend ever Torro!" Mark parroted.

"I know right, but there will be no strip clubs if I want to oggle a half naked woman I will just close my eyes and think of you" Callie offered before closing her eyes and smirking "Yep, works every time!"

"Oh, I want to join the party" Mark giggled as he closed his eyes and pulled his lips into a big smirk. "Holy shit Robbins nice rack... OUCH what the hell is with all the slapping lately" Mark's eyed widened as he glared at his best friend who was glaring at him pointedly.

"Your thinking about my girlfriend semi naked! Bad Mark! NO! Do I need to hit you with a newspaper too?" Callie teased as she eyed a newspaper not too far away from her.

"It's a compliment, she's hot!... OUCH! What the hell Robbins!" Mark spun to glare at the blonde who had just slapped the opposite shoulder.

"Quit thinking about me in that dirty mind of yours and if I ever hear you refer to my rack again the slap will be a lot harder!" Arizona threatened seriously, but the smirk on her face told Mark that she was only half serious.

"Fine... but you can only police this when your around, what I think about in the privacy of my own mind in my own home is my business" Mark smiled smugly, before backing away a few steps and holding his hot coffee in front of him for protection.

"Mark I swear if you are perving over my girlfriend I will kick you in the balls so hard it will take a whole team of doctors to find them again... understood?" Callie warned with a glare.

"Geez! I thought we shared everything Cal... I'm hurt!" Mark teased.

"We do not share women!" Callie scoffed and crinkled her nose up in the disgust of the suggestion.

"What about Tina huh?" Mark offered smugly and winked at the brunette knowingly. With two people who enjoyed random hook up's who were best friends, it was almost impossible to not cross 'sexual' paths at some point.

"Shut it Sloan" Callie sneered as she tried to sound nonchalant and not give anything away to Arizona or let Mark know that he was venturing into bad territory that he would surely wind her up with and cause problems unknowingly.

"and Melanie?" Mark continued.

"Mark I swear to god" Callie groaned and threw her best friend a look that pleaded with him to shut the hell up, but Mark wasn't looking at her, he was looking up at the ceiling almost as if he was trying to remember something that had slipped his mind and it was imperative that he found the memory.

"Then there was Julie OUCH! That hurt!" Callie stalked towards him and punched his shoulder hard enough to tell him that she was not happy with him. Mark clasped his shoulder and winced as he rubbed the tender spot. Four of Callie's punches and each to the exact same spot that day, it was going to bruise for sure.

"Not as much as it will hurt if you don't shut up right now!" Callie warned between gritted teeth and Mark could see the latina fury fire burning in her eyes.

"Oh crap... ummm I was just joking blondie!" Mark offered worriedly to Arizona who was watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and disgust.

"No you weren't" Arizona offered with a shrug, trying to brush off all thoughts of who Tina, Melanie and Julie were and where to find them so she could take a brick to them.

"No I wasn't... but it was a long time ago and it wasn't like it sounded... I just meant that we both slept with the same women, but definitely not at the same time, I could never get her to agree to it" Mark offered, trying to make it better but all he did was piss Callie off further. He cowered slightly in his chair and rued the day he taught the brunette how to fight.

"MARK! Shut UP!" Callie snarled as her hands flew into the air in frustration.

"What's wrong Calliope?" Arizona asked softly as she laid a hand on her girlfriends back to calm her down and rubbed soothingly.

"Nothing I just ummm" Callie was speechless and Mark's smug grin was doing nothing but make her want to start directing her punches at his face instead.

"It's in the past remember, as long as you keep it there" Arizona soothed and kissed her cheek affectionately.

"Best. Girlfriend. Ever!" Mark offered, but quickly shut up when Callie's eyes turned to him with fiery fury once again.

"I would love to keep it there if this asshole could just stop his mouth from running" Callie sighed and relaxed into Arizona's embrace and took a deep breath. That was until she felt Arizona tense and clear her throat nervously and she internally groaned as she awaited.

"Wait... when you say Tina..." Arizona asked.

"The building receptionist" Mark answered.

"MARK!" Callie screeched angrily.

"I'll just be looking for a brick if you need me" Arizona muttered before kissing Callie's cheek and leaving the room.

"OUCH" Mark threw his hands up protectively before Callie could slap his head again.

"Good one ass hole now everytime she looks at Tina she will be thinking about how she's seen me naked!" Callie whined as she dropped into a seat at the table and glared at Mark like he was her biggest enemy.

"Well in fairness Tina has seen you naked" Mark offered, not knowing when to stop and shut up.

"I know that but Arizona doesn't want to know those things. She has to work with her and she doesn't want to know that someone she sees and talks to on a daily basis has banged her girlfriend!" Callie spat, not caring about using such a derogatory term, something she normally wouldn't do, but Mark had her all flustered and annoyed.

"Oh I see your point" Mark's eyes widened worriedly, finally the penny had dropped and he felt like a bit of a shit for having wound Callie up so much.

"Thank you, but it's a little too late now!" Callie scoffed.

"Let's just hope she doesn't work out that Julie is Julie from HR then!" Mark grimaced playfully.

"Jesus... I really hate you right now" Callie sighed as she lowered her head to the table and banged her forehead on it.

"You love me, So Joe's and then Candy Girls tonight?" Mark smirked at her dramatics.

"No Mark, Joes and then home... I really aren't interested in going to a strip joint!" Callie murmured, not even bothering to look up at him.

"Since when?" Mark almost yelped in shock.

"Since I fell in love with an amazing woman that I actually want to keep around. I don't want to mess this up Mark and I need to grow up. The whole stripper thing... it's part of who I used to be and it's something that I actually want to put behind me and not because Arizona wouldn't approve despite what she just said... I know she wouldn't like it but that's not the point. I don't want to be that person anymore... I don't want to be that shallow anymore, I want to be better, I want to do better, so I'm hanging up my VIP Candy Time card... we can still hang out and have fun, just in venues where women arent throwing their tiitties in my face" Callie scoffed, glancing up at Mark who looked like she had just announced that she had some kind of terminal disease.

"Did I really just hear you right... are you actually listening to yourself?" Mark asked incredulously.

"Mark don't be like that... even if Arizona and I weren't together, I would still be saying no. This isn't something I have just decided in the last two seconds, it's been on my mind a while... I just think it's time I grew up. I had a designer out to the apartment two months ago to get a whole change done there... I don't want to live in a bachelorette pad anymore and I don't want to spend my evenings looking at random women getting naked or take random women home for hook up's anymore... and I see a future with Arizona, a future that involves weddings and kids and even grandkids, I don't want to mess that up either" Callie confessed, her eyes pleading for her best friend to understand and support her on this.

"Ok fine! No more strip clubs... god why don't we just switch our VIP passes for golf memberships now" Mark scoffed playfully.

"You can still go" Callie laughed at Mark's childish outburst, or was it the image of the two of them playing golf like her dad and his buddies.

"On my own? What and be that creepy guy that shows up alone, no thanks!" Mark scoffed as he ruffled Callie's hair affectionately and earned himself yet another slap.


	40. Chapter 40

Arizona curled up on her couch with a liter of Ben and Jerry's Half Baked and began flicking with the remote to find something to watch to put a stop to the rambling thoughts that were going through her head and driving her insane. It had been four hours since Callie had popped into her office on the way out to tell her that she was leaving with Mark. It had been quite sweet actually, Arizona had assumed that they had parted ways when their conversation took place in the kitchen area at work and that would be it for the rest of the day, perhaps she would get a goodnight text, depending on how much Callie drunk tonight, perhaps she wouldn't.

But one thing she hadn't expected was for Callie to appear just two hours later with her coat and her bag, coming to give her a goodbye kiss and inform her that she was pissed at Mark for forcing their first date to finally end, this would be the first time since they became a couple that they were separated, apart from the times at work when they were doing their own thing yet never far away from each other.

And the best thing in Arizona's mind was that the kiss Callie had given her had been so natural, and so domesticated, it was as if it was a goodbye kiss that Callie had given her every day of their lives, it was perfect, it was sweet, it was innocent and it was tender. Honestly, if you didn't really know Callie, it was everything you would not expect from her. But Arizona did know Callie, as with each hour that passed that she could call Callie her girlfriend, she got to know her better, and she was loving every single moment of it.

What she wasn't enjoying however, was sitting home while her girlfriend was out having fun and sulking because she missed her... after just four measly hours... she had lived without the woman for thirty odd years... yet after just a few days of being in a relationship with her, she couldn't survive four hours. She had ended up leaving her cell on the kitchen counter because she was beginning to hallucinate that she was hearing a message coming through and found herself checking it continually only to consistently find a blank screen.

And in truth, although she wouldn't say no to a message from the woman who consumed her every thought these days, she didn't want Callie to think she had to sit and message her every few minutes when they were apart. Callie was and always had been a fiercely independent woman and Arizona had no designs on changing that, it was part of the fabric that made Callie who she was, and despite their differing views on what ranks as an important topic in world news, and despite their polar opposite upbringings and their opposing views on things like global warming, shopping, environmental issues and apparently strippers... the person that Callie was, is exactly who she fell in love with and even though she may frustrate her at time and drive her bat shit crazy, she wouldn't change a single thing about her... well not anything that the brunette had already changed on her own, like the brunettes serial random bed buddies.

Urgh tomorrow she would have to look Tina in the eye when they arrived at work, the dirty blonde receptionist would be expecting their usual several minute greeting and she just knew that the entire time she would be thinking about how that bitch had seen her girlfriend naked, had done all the things that she longed to do to her girlfriend's body, had brought her girlfriend to a sweet release that she hadn't even been privileged enough to do yet... ok maybe Tine wasn't a bitch, infact she was a lovely person... but that didn't change the fact that tomorrow she would have to look the woman in the eyes and just know that she wanted to burn her eyes out of her head.

It was nearing ten thirty in the evening when Arizona finally decided that the ice cream tub was completely empty and she wouldn't be able to get a single scrape more from the tub. She glanced at her watch with a grimace before deciding she would just head to bed and make a start on what she knew was going to be an impossible task - trying to fall asleep without Callie's warm curvaceous body wrapped around her own.

They had done very well over the last few days and nights to control their urges, apart from Callie's topless teasing the night before, they had done their best to avoid seeing each other change in fear that if they were to see each other in any state of undress they would lose their fight with self control and move faster than either of them - mainly Callie - was ready. And although they had enjoyed several make out sessions, a few of which had gotten a lot hotter and heavier than either had planned, Arizona was impressed with how Callie was holding up with her own request at taking things slowly whilst they got to know each other in a more mentally intimate way.

As she lifted her quilt and slid into the cold bed, she sighed deeply whilst checking her phone for the hundredth time for the night and seeing no new messages. She couldn't help but miss the brunette more as she wondered how her night was going, whether she was having a good time and surprisingly she didn't question whether Callie would be behaving herself. Callie had poured her heart out and had requested that Arizona gave her the benefit of the doubt and allow her to lose the blondes trust instead of having to gain Arizona's trust and although it was the opposite of how Arizona would normally enter into a relationship, she was happy to allow Callie the opportunity to show her that she was trustworthy and could be relied on.

Callie had certainly gone out of her way to soothe any worries Arizona may have, hell she had even initially refused to go out for drinks with her best friend tonight until the blonde had forced her hand and demanded that she went out, but the fact that Callie's first reaction was to stay home with her meant more than the act of Callie actually staying home. And despite Mark's suggestion of hitting a strip joint, something Arizona was dead set against, Calie seemed to genuinely look uncomfortable with the idea, something she knew for a fact that the brunette wasn't.

She was well aware of Callie's visits once or twice a month to a strip joint after a long day at work, hell she once had to drop off a file to the brunette during one of her visits, thank god Callie had at least had the grace to make sure she wasn't in a back room or in the middle of getting a personal show. It wasn't that Arizona was a prude, she just didn't believe that women should be objectified in that way... those girls were people, with feelings and emotions and lives, they were not there for the likes of her girlfriend and Mark to oggle over like they are a piece of meat... but the girls made their own decision to foray into the path of stripping and as long as Callie wasn't touching or spending too many nights there, who was she to deny the brunette her vice.

Arizona was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of her mobile vibrating on the bedside table, she jumped to snatch it like her life depended on it before scoffing and rolling her eyes at herself for being such a desperado. She glanced at the screen and a huge smile engulfed her face when she saw Callie's face light up on the screen... this was a new addition to her mobile in the last few days much to Callies annoyance. Callie didn't find the picture from their ugly outfit shopping fun anywhere near as charming and cute as Arizona did.

"Hello" Arizona grinned into the phone, not even caring that she sounded like she had sat the entire night staring at her phone and waiting... which she pretty much did.

"Hey Baby... how was your night?" Callie asked and Arizona could tell that her girlfriend had enjoyed a few drinks.

"it wasn't too bad... I'm just on my way home. Mark picked up so I thought I would get an early night" Callie smiled into the device, she was loathe to admit it because of what it meant, but she had desperately missed the blonde's voice.

"What, no candy time?" Arizona asked in confusion.

"No Arizona, no candy time..." Callie sighed sadly and Arizona heard it and felt bad.

"I'm just teasing, you know you can go if you want to" Arizona offered sweetly, not wanting to have an argument or upset the brunette.

"I know... but maybe I don't want to... maybe I would rather only have you giving me strip teases" Callie offered seriously, but Arizona could hear a little hopeful smirk in her tone.

"I can see where this is going and the answer is no" Arizona scoffed into the phone as she lay down and snuggled into the blankets to get comfortable.

"God your such a spoilsport! But like I said, I'm on my way home... I wasn't even coming to your place" Callie grumbled, hating herself for the idea she had formed whilst watching Mark try his hand at finding a woman to keep his bed warm, which meant spending the night without the blonde.

"You know you can if you want, there is a very cold spot in my big lonely bed with your name on it" Arizona offered hopefully as she stared at said pillow and almost willed Callie to appear there.

"As tempting as that is... I think tonight I will just head back to mine, but how about after work tomorrow we go back to yours and spend the night together before I have to shoot to LA for the long weekend?" Callie suggested.

"Sounds perfect" Arizona smiled, not allowing herself to think about days and nights without her girlfriend.

"If you play your cards right, I may be convinced to take my gorgeous girlfriend on our second date" Callie flirted, and Arizona wished that she was with her so that she could see the light dancing in the brunettes eyes the way it would, and see that playful seductive smile on those plump lips, and the way her lips protruded slightly as her long feminine eyelashes battered. God her girlfriend was stunning when she flirted, no wonder no woman was able to resist her.

"Oh really... and where would we be going?" Arizona asked playfully.

"It's a surprise... which really means that I have some ideas but haven't decided which one to go with yet" Callie laughed into the phone at her own blunt honesty.

"I'm sure whatever you decide I will enjoy... I kind of just like spending time with you, it doesn't matter where we go or what we do" Arizona admitted softly.

"You're cute" Callie purred into the phone and Arizona could just imagine her big brown eyes sparkling as she said it.

"Stop it... I'm not cute" Arizona scoffed.

"Yes you are, you are cute and you are adorable and you are bad ass... don't argue it, just accept it" Callie offered pointedly.

"Is this you trying to wear the trousers" Arizona scoffed and could almost hear Callie pouting in the phone.

"We both know who wears the trousers... and that is as close as a confession as you are ever going to get from me!" Callie laughed and Arizona couldn't help but join her.

"Is that you back at the hotel?" Arizona asked having heard Callie mutter goodnight to someone before a car door shut.

"Yep... home sweet home!" Callie sighed.

"What's wrong baby? You sound frustrated?" Arizona asked concerned.

"How do you do that?" Callie laughed at how Arizona was so easily able to read her just from her voice on the phone.

"Because you are an open book to me, there is nothing you can hide from me... just remember that sweetie" Arizona flirted.

"I would argue out of principle but you're undeniably right, I can't get anything past you... I just... this place hasn't felt like home for a while now, it kind of feels like I'm living in a weird version of my past... I just wish I could get the designer to move faster and have this place freshened up so It felt more homely, you know?" Callie offered as she hit the stairs, not wanting to disconnect the call so she could jump in the lift. Arizona was the only person who had that specific effect on her.

"It will happen soon baby, don't worry so much about it... and if it gets too unbearable just come to my place and you can mock my decoration again" Arizona teased gently in a bit to cheer up the obviously glum brunette.

"Funny... real funny... it's not my fault you have this misconception that you're the damn easter bunny" Callie smirked, the first time she had seen the apartment T.I. had arranged for Arizona as part of her contract since the blonde moved in she was amazed at all the pastels and soft hues the blonde had decorated with. Arizona had found it hilarious when Callie had asked if she had just fallen into an Easter basket.

"Shut it Batman" Arizona grinned playfully knowing by now Mark would have teased her endlessly and Callie would have pulled an explanation from him ny any means necessary.

"I thought I was Robin" Callie pouted, finally having been let in on the joke and not being amused to have been ridiculed to Mark's sidekick.

"You will never be a Robin in my eyes baby... I only said that because Mark was feeling very emasculated" Arizona cooed, furrowing her brow when she heard a loud thud emanating from the other side of the phone. "You ok babe?"

"Yeah, I may have fallen over when I took my shoes off... someone moved the wall I was trying to lean on" Callie offered seriously and Arizona couldn't help but giggle.

"Sure they did... or you are drunk?" Arizona teased lovingly.

"If your going to be mean I'm going to hang up" Callie tried to sound stern and offended, but the drunken lilt made it impossible.

"you wouldn't..." Arizona giggled even more at the brunettes failed attempt.

"Nah I wouldn't... I missed you tonight. I never in my entire life thought I would hear myself say this... so just prepare yourself incase the world suddenly implodes... but I would much prefer to have stayed home tonight and snuggled up on the couch" Callie cooed into the phone in an affectionate tone.

"Wait... can you feel that? I'm pretty sure I can feel an earthquake starting" Arizona scoffed.

"Smart ass"

"I've been around you for too long" Arizona grinned even though Callie couldn't see her.

"Was that a complaint... SHIT" Callie screeched seconds after a loud thud erupted down the phone.

"Baby...?" Arizona asked worriedly, sitting up in the bed and wondering how quickly she could get dressed and get to Callie's apartment if she was needed.

"I jumped on the bed and it bounced on the floor... hurt my ass!" Callie whined, unknown to Arizona, she was laid on the bedroom floor on her side rubbing her aching derriere with a pout.

"Hah... I told you that mattress was a little too bouncy!" Arizona smirked.

"You signed off on it, it got the Robbins seal of approval... if it isn't good enough quality then it's your fault" Callie informed her seriously. "My ass is still sore by the way!" Callie reminded pitifully.

"Oh poor baby... what can I do to help?" Arizona cooed into the phone lovingly as she nestled back into her bed.

"Kiss it better?" Callie suggested with a smirk.

"The day you see me kissing your ass will be the day hell freezes over, count on it" Arizona scoffed.

"We will see... I guarantee within the next month I have you kissing my ass" Callie offered mischievously, wondering herself if she meant physically or metaphorically.

"Hah... sure thing baby.. Did you hit your head when you fell? Do you want to put a wager on this?" Arizona mocked as she listened to the sounds of Callie getting off the floor and getting into bed.

"Oh I love our wagers... name it!" Callie finally replied, a sigh of contentment being released as she snuggled down into her comfortable yet lonely bed.

"Oh! I've got it... WHEN the month is out and I haven't kissed your ass on anything, I get to choose your entire office wardrobe for the first week of next month!" Callie suddenly perked up at Arizona's suggestion. She certainly had some outfits she thought the blonde would appreciate making her wear.

"I guess I will need to get some extra backups of your favorite outfit just in case" Callie grinned into the darkness.

"Already admitting defeat?" Arizona laughed, Callie was right... she would happily make her wear 'THAT' outfit every single day!

"No way! It was a joke, it's never going to happen. Fine I will see your bet and match it... if I get you to kiss my ass before the month is out, I get to choose your office wardrobe for the entire first week of next month... if you don't then you get to choose my office wardrobe for the entire first week"

"No slutty outfits though, it has to be tasteful" Arizona added instantly, the worry in her voice evident as she imagined Callie trying to force her to wear some 'outfit' mashed up from sex shops which pushed her cleavage out and left nothing to the imagination at all.

"Absolutely not. If your too chicken to take the bet, walk away" Callie laughed, knowing exactly what Arizona was thinking.

"Urgh! Fine! But I swear if you actually manage to win and you make me go to work in a French maids costume or something, I swear you will be paying for it for a very long time!" Arizona threatened half seriously.

"Ok fine... no boobs, butts or thighs on show?" Callie relented, knowing she wouldn't do that to Arizona anyway so what was the harm in letting her have a little win on the rules.

"You have yourself a deal... now get ready to lose" Callie could hear the grin in the blondes tired voice as she sing songed.

"Arizona?" Callie whispered after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah" Arizona mumbled, her eyes firmly closed and the clutches of sleep finally beginning to take hold of her.

"Even if I do lose, I will still be the winner because you're MY girlfriend" Callie offered honestly, and a little vulnerably and Arizona melted again, for the hundredth time this phone call.

"Now who is cute" Arizona teased softly, smirking when she heard the tsk come from the over side of the line between deep breaths.

"I'm badass" Callie announced proudly in retort through a sleep filled haze.

"Nope your cute!... Callie?... Calliope?" Arizona heard the soft snores coming through the line and knew that her girlfriend was asleep. "Sweet dreams baby. I love you... thank you for being so amazing and making me smile and laugh so much, I will see you in a few hours honey"


	41. Chapter 41

Callie Torres woke to a slight pounding in her head and shuffled around in her bed in search of the warm blonde goddess that had somehow managed to evade her embrace throughout the night but her search came up in vain. Peeking her eyes open and scanning the bedroom she sighed deeply when she found no signs of her girlfriend and realized that they had spent their first night apart since they admitted their feelings to each other and decided to give things a try... well since Arizona had stopped trying to run and had decided to let Callie prove that it was worth the risk.

She reached out to her bedside table and fumbled around blindly for her phone, but once again came up empty, so with a groan she sat up in order to look for it with her eyes instead and felt the phone slide from her pillow and suddenly remembered getting into bed talking to her girlfriend, she deducted that she must have fallen asleep mid call.

Glancing at the time on her phone she saw that it was five thirty, Arizona would still be asleep with her alarm not due to going off until six, a luxury she had awarded herself ever since the brunette had backed off on harassing her night and day with menial tasks. Rolling out of her bed, Callie groaned when she realized she was still in the work pants, blouse and underwear that she put on the morning before.

As she stumbled into the bathroom she hit dial and threw her phone between her ear and shoulder as she grabbed her make up remover before rubbing furiously at her face to remove her panda eyes and left over remains of yesterday's face.

"What" Came the sleepy blondes voice grumpily from the other side of the like and Callie couldn't contain the little giggle that erupted at how cute grumpy Arizona was.

"Good morning to you too sunshine" Callie chirped happily despite her hungover state.

"What time is it?" Arizona asked as she hunkered down under the warm blankets on her bed, her eyes still firmly closed and she sighed.

"Early" Callie offered simply, knowing if she admitted to Arizona that she had called before six she would be in big trouble, but she needed to hear her girlfriends voice first thing when she woke up, anything else just felt wrong! "I just wanted to tell you that I missed waking up to you and I hate sleeping without you"

"Hmmm... me too" Arizona groaned and Callie could hear the rustle of the pillowcase through the line as Arizona nuzzled her face against it in an attempt to scratch her nose without having to expose her warm arm to the cold air.

"God your adorable when your sleepy" Callie sang affectionately and smirked when she heard the blonde groan in annoyance.

"Urgh... why are you so perky... shouldn't you be hungover" The blonde whined.

"Aww baby you know that I'm the perky one on a morning and you're the perky one every other minute of the day" Callie laughed as she received another dissatisfied and annoyed groan in reply.

"Why didn't you just sleep here, I'm cold without you" Arizona mumbled sleepily, her mind teetering on the edge of sleep.

"Then get up, get ready and meet me for breakfast?" Callie pleaded, not caring if she sounded desperate.

"Urgh... I would but I don't want to!" Arizona admitted causing Callie to back out a quick laugh which stirred the blonde further and dragged her from her sleepy state.

"Nice... well I'm going to jump in the shower. Why don't you get up and get ready and head into work early and I will meet you there with breakfast and coffee.. . please?" Callie tried again and even through in a sweet smile even though she knew the blonde couldn't see it.

"Ok fine! But I'm not getting up till my alarm goes off" Arizona warned, she would lie in bed for the next fifteen minutes and check her emails on her iPad, basking in the warm cocoon that was her bed.

"Ok sweetie... I'm naked now so I'm hanging up" Callie flirted without abandon and knew she was successful when she heard the breath on the line hitch and a throaty "tease" being mumbled. "hey, I'm only giving you some inspiration for your dreams before you have to get up as well" Callie smirked.

"My dreams were already filled with you" Arizona admitted honestly, knowing that the brunette would run with it and make it rude, but that was one of the frustratingly adorable things that she loved about Callie.

"Ahh but was I naked?" Callie offered and Arizona smirked to herself at how well she knew her love.

"… no comment, I'll see you in about an hour"

Callie finished up her shower whilst singing song in her happiness, her hangover disappearing the second the water began to cascade over her. She patted her smooth caramel flesh dry with her fluffy towel before throwing her hair up in a turban style with a towel to keep her hair out of her face whilst she massaged some moisturizer into every orifice of her slowly aging face before brushing her teeth and smiling at her reflection in the mirror as her mind returned to her girlfriend and how she would get to see her in just half an hour.

She grabbed her phone and sent a quick message to Arizona to meet her in the brunette's office, knowing it was more private and comfortable and hopefully she would get to enjoy a quick early morning smooch before they got to work. With that she began to apply her make up with expertise precision before blowdrying her hair and styling it into a loose teased braided crown whilst her natural waves cascaded down her back. With a nod of approval she dashed into the bedroom, knowing she was now starting to run low on time she grabbed her phone and rang in her breakfast order before messaging Pippa and asking her to swing by Arizona's favorite café to pick the order up while she dressed in the outfit she had already decided last night that she was going to wear.

Callie threw on some matching white lace lingerie before eyeing herself in the floor to ceiling mirror in her walk in wardrobe and nodding in approval at how the stark white contrasted against her caramel toned flesh. She hit the button for her electronic wardrobe, grabbing her cream blouse when it appeared and put it on, fastening the button at the back easily before waiting for her charcoal pencil skirt to appear and pulling it up her long smooth legs easily before turning off her wardrobe and moving to her floor to ceiling shoe rack and skimming the shoes until deciding on a simple pair of matt black stilettos with a heel high enough to make her ass pop and her calves curve perfectly. She grabbed her black trench coat and threw it on before grabbing her keys, phone and leather satchel and heading out of the door.

Callie Torres was on a mission to impress, her only aim was to have Arizona remember exactly why spending the night apart was a terrible idea when she could have had uninterrupted access to her body in this outfit that she loved so much until they left for work on a morning.

Arriving at T.I. HQ she gracefully slid from the back of the car thanking her driver and made her way inside with an eager swing to her hips. She knew she looked good, she felt like she looked good and she felt good in general, but the second she saw the golden hair she would recognize anywhere, every thought in her head disappeared and she smiled dreamily.

She studied Arizona's body, enjoying a quick perve of her curvy derriere as she approached her before wrapping her arms around her waist from behind and kissing the soft cheek with her lips, smirking when she pulled back and saw a faint trace of her lipstick remaining on the pale flesh.

"Good morning beautiful" Callie grinned before leaning in to peck thin pale lips affectionately. She loved those lips, especially on their first kiss of the day.

"Oh hey, you're here" Arizona offered before sliding from her arms awkwardly and offering a tense smile before her eyes flicked elsewhere. Callie followed her eye line and spotted Tina and her heart sunk, she really didn't want her girlfriend to feel awkward, this was why she didn't want to give any names... but Mark and his stupid big mouth and now how the hell could she fix this?

She turned her eyes back to Arizona questioningly and smiled sadly when she saw the discomfort in those perfect cerulean eyes, letting the blonde know that she understood what was going through her mind and wasn't upset with her for pulling away, she was just sad that the blonde was so uncomfortable because of her actions in the past.

"Of course I'm here honey, we have a breakfast date remember" Callie offered a knowling lopsided smile as she stepped forward and slid her arms confidently around Arizona's waist again and pulling the blonde to meet her in the middle. Her lips captured Arizona's in a firm, deep kiss and a smile spread across her face when she felt the blonde gasp in surprise at such a forward act in the middle of T.I.'s reception area. Sure they had been seen around the office the past few days, but when they knew people were looking they held back on their affection, but this kiss was anything but contained or held back, it was passionate and it was forward and it took Arizona's breath away and made her knee's tremble slightly in weakness.

"Hi" Arizona breathed dreamily when Callie finally pulled back, only to cup her face and place a second tender kiss on thin pink lips and brushing their noses together several times.

"Hi… you have no idea how much I missed you last night" Callie smiled lovingly, completely forgetting where they were or why she had kissed the blonde so passionately in the first place.

"When you kiss me like that, I have every idea… what exactly was that kiss for not that I'm complaining" Arizona smiled as one hand found a lock of Callie's long, wavy hair and wrapped it around her finger as she tried to ground herself and not melt completely.

"Can I not give my girlfriend a proper good morning kiss just because I love her and missed her?" Callie offered with a soft smile. "I'll meet you upstairs… don't be long or your breakfast will go cold" Callie smirked before turning to Tina and offering her a friendly smile and a simple 'Morning T' before she strode towards the elevator. She could feel Arizona's eyes following her so as she hit the elevator call button and waited for the carriage she pulled off her jacket and laid it neatly over her arm before glancing over her shoulder with a smoldering smile and winking at the gaping blonde deliberately.

Once Callie had disappeared from view Arizona snapped back to reality and turned her attention back to Tina with a blush when she saw the knowing smile and the playful green eyes.

"So I'm going to guess that you heard about me and Callie then… it was a very long time ago and it was nothing more than a bit of fun, you really have nothing to worry about" Tina smiled honestly at her friend, one of the most down to Earth people to work in this building who she looked forward to catching up with every morning.

"Was I that obvious?" Arizona groaned internally in embarrassment knowing there was no point in denying the accusation. If she tried she would just look like even more of an idiot, and she did like Tina, perhaps if they just cleared the air and Arizona made it clear that Tina was to disinfect her memory of any thought of her girlfriend, they could continue being friends.

"Let's just say I moved this glass bowl down here for a reason" Tina laughed softly as she pointed to a glass bowl full of mentos that sure enough had been moved from its usual spot to behind the desk. "I know your weapon of choice is brick's, but I'm going to guess when there are no bricks you will accept whatever is at hand" Tina teased.

"Sorry" Arizona offered a guilty smile as her eyes tore away from the glass bowl and returned to her friends face.

"Don't be… I get it… but your my friend and Callie's somewhat of a friend and whatever we had was way in the past… like probably six years ago when I first started here… if it helps I have seen a few of Callie's conquests come and go and have never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you… not even Kara! I really don't think you have anything to worry about" Tina smiled kindly.

"Thanks… I should probably head up before she get's distracted and starts getting up to mischief" Arizona pointed over her shoulder in the direction Callie had disappeared.

"That sounds like a good idea… she definitely looks like she's dressed to impress this morning" Tina smirked knowingly and Arizona felt the burn in her cheeks start again.

"Your telling me!" Arizona scoffed as she waved her goodbye and headed to the elevator feeling a little lighter having cleared the air with her friend a bit, it would probably take a few days for the feeling of wanting to beat any mental images she may have out of her head, but it would pass and that's what was important. Jesus where the hell was all this jealousy coming from, sure she had experienced some jealousy in the past, but nothing like this.

-oOo-

"Hey babe… I thought you were going to waste our whole breakfast date with Tina… should I be worried about you two?" Callie teased when Arizona finally entered her office. Arizona closed the door purposefully, strode to the couch Callie was elegantly sat on and straddled her thigh's before pulling her into a deep searing kiss that took Callie's breath away and left her head swimming.

"What was that for?" Callie gasped when the blonde pulled back but stayed put on her lap with her arms wrapped over Callie's shoulders and a seductive smile on her lips.

"Is there a specific reason you are wearing this" Arizona asked as her eyes trailed down and she bit her lip at the teasing view of Callie's breasts encased in a stark white lace bra that was only visible because of her elevated position.

"Whatever do you mean Arizona, this? This is just an outfit I sometimes wear to work" Callie teased, her breath hitching as she saw the desire filling turquoise eyes with the speed and power of a freight train.

"You look fucking incredible" Arizona practically moaned as she edged forward to see if she could find a better view. "Really fucking hot!"

"Do you want your breakfast or are you planning to spend the entire time perving down my top?" Callie smirked knowingly as she fought to ignore the heat she could feel against her thighs, both between them and above them, radiating from between the blonde.

"Oh Calliope… today, you are my breakfast!" Arizona moaned before she launched her lips the final few inches and kissed Callie hungrily. Callie couldn't have fought her off even if she had wanted to, the moment she felt that desperation and hunger against her lips, all thoughts escaped her mind and she melted into the kiss.

A deep moan ran from deep inside the brunette only to escape into Arizona's mouth as ivory hands slid from around her neck and down her sides, brushing teasingly at the sides of her breasts then down to her waist before rising painfully slowly until she felt the palms of Arizona's hands cupping her breasts, something they had yet to experience together and both women groaned at the sensation as Arizona firmly squeezed the heavy peaks as she began to massage them, no longer caring about their agreement to take it slow, and for Callie's part she didn't argue or flinch, she didn't give the blonde any sign that she wanted her to stop her ministrations instead her hands found their way to Arizona's waist before sliding over the buttocks covered in a pair of black skinny fit cotton pants.

Arizona released a moan of appreciation which encouraged Callie to keep going, as Callie's caramel hands massaged and stroked at each delicious inch of the blondes firm ass, she pulled her closer and forced their bodies to connect and trapping the blondes hands in their place against her straining breasts. Arizona gasped as her own hands, still working at Callie's breasts brushed against her own, their kiss paused for the split second it took for their lips to reconnect after Arizona's escaped breath.

Callie could feel her body reacting to Arizona's ministrations, her nipples hardened and strained against the lace of her bra which only aided to heighten the sensation and in a chain reaction caused her already painfully erect nipples to stiffen further. Arizona felt the hard buds pressing into her palms and adjusted her hands accordingly to allow her thumbs to brush over them and as Callie moaned in appreciation it ignited her own moan to reverberate through her body, which in turn made Callie moan in a throatier tone.

Callie tore her lips away from Arizona's and begun to kiss at her alabaster jawline before beginning a hungry attack on her neck, kissing her way down to the blondes semi exposed collar bone before licking a teasing path back up the long flawless neck till she hit a spot that caused Arizona to unconsciously thrust and roll her hips into the caramel body. She spent several moments teasing around the spot she had found as Arizona sat atop her with her eyes firmly closed and lost in the desire and sweet sensations Callie was providing her as own her thumbs and forefinger's tugged and rolled her sensitive nipples expertly until Callie sucked hard on the spot and Arizona's hips thrust even harder into Callie as her lips parted and a strangled moan broke out into the silent office.

"Fuck your incredible" Callie gasped as she released the now red tinged spot before allowing her tongue to trace over the spot soothingly, her taste buds tingling as Arizona's perfume coated her tongue.

"God you feel so… Oh!... So… amazing" Arizona managed to groan out between her moans as her hips began to pick up a slow and steady rhythm which only pushed her on as she felt Callie respond every time her covered center contacted Callie's stomach.

"Baby I need you so badly… if we don't stop I don't think I'll be able to" Callie confessed as her nails dug into Arizona's ass and encouraged each thrust as her lips continued to attack the raw skin of Arizona's neck.

"Then don't stop… I need you and I need you right now" Arizona demanded as she gazed into the almost ebony eyes of her girlfriend and felt another gush of excitement rip through her entire being at the way Callie was looking at her. She leant forward and captured plump red lips in a bruising kiss, desperate to taste Callie's kiss once more as she felt Callie's hips begin to rise into her center as the desire became unbearable and uncontrollable.

Both woman groaned breathlessly into the sloppy kiss before Callie slid her hands from the perfect ass to Arizona's waistband where she began to tug at Arizona's crisp white blouse in a bid to release it from being tucked into the blondes pants, desperation to get some flesh exposed that she could taste.

"Hey Torro that girl last night was easily a si… holy shit! Sorry!" Mark spun around on the spot and dashed out of the room, not at all expecting to have walked in on such a heated moment so early in the morning.

"Fuck!" Arizona whined as her head dropped to Callies shoulder in frustration and embarrassment but her hands made no effort to move away even though her digits had stilled.

"You're a bad influence Robbins… what happened to taking things slow" Callie scoffed as she squirmed in her seat and raised her hands to Arizona's hips where they gripped tightly so they wouldn't wander on their own accord.

"You turned up to work dressed like this… and don't even try to act innocent… if I remember rightly, I wasn't forcing myself on you, you were right there with me" Arizona winked teasingly as she pulled back and studied the lust filled face just inches from her own.

"Is this what you were thinking about everytime you got that glazed over look when I wore this?" Callie raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"Not every time! Sometimes I would just be thinking about running my hands up those delicious thighs and over your incredible ass… especially that time I walked in here and you were bent over in the bottom drawer of your filing cabinet" Arizona smirked as Callie visibly took a deep breath and tried to fight against the second wave of desire threatening to wash over her.

"Fuck… how am I meant to get anything done when your going to leave me hanging like this" Callie whined pitifully and Arizona leant forward and rest her forehead against Callie's, their eyes meeting in the middle as they stared lovingly at each other with lust filled eyes.

"I could always go lock the door and we can finish what we started" Arizona suggested sexily before deliberately rolling her hips into Callie and pinching gently against the nipples still erect and in her grasp.

"Ok you need to behave and remove your naughty hands right now before I take you up on that offer… I really do not want our first time to be a quicky on my office couch… or a quicky period. I want you in a big bed with a whole night ahead of us so I can take my time worshipping you" Callie admitted as she grabbed Arizona's hands and removed them from their place clutching at the brunettes breasts before entwining their fingers and bringing both hands to her mouth to kiss.

"Fine… I guess I can wait till then… you don't have a bed hidden in here do you?" Arizona teased as she tried to force herself to calm down, but having Callie so close and knowing how turned on her girlfriend was, was incredibly hard.

"Hah… now who is the pervert Arizona… fuck I don't think I have ever been this turned on before… this is torture" Callie confessed with a groan as she squeezed the pale hands in her own tighter and sighed.

"Shame you don't have your lucky party pants with you baby. You could take care of business while your taking care of business" Arizona winked playfully.

"That's it… get off! Get off me you fucking huge tease! Your breakfast and coffee will be going cold" Callie scoffed as she guided Arizona off her and onto the couch next to her and smiled when the blonde grabbed both coffees and the brown paper bag from the coffee table before snuggling into Callie's side and opening the bag excitedly.

"What do you reckon Mark wanted?" Arizona asked before taking a bite of her cream cheese and strawberry jam filled croissant and eyed the brunette with interest, still snuggled into her side.

"To gloat about the woman he took home last night and all the action he got, by the sounds of it" Callie smiled guiltily before she sipped at her coffee hoping that her girlfriend wouldn't lecture her on being a pig again but Arizona simply rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"it's a good job my mind is still a little fuzzy from our little make out otherwise I would be slapping you and lecturing you on how disgraceful it is that you and oddball rate women over morning coffee" Arizona scoffed playfully.

"I know baby… but you know your lectures have actually sunk in… I'm not that person anymore, if anything I'm actually a little ashamed of some of the things I used to do" Callie shrugged as if it was a blase comment, but Arizona knew her well enough to see the honesty and seriousness in the chocolate eyes.

"Baby it's in the past, you can't change what has already been… but you can move forward… and just out of interest that make out session?" Arizona trailed off with a smile at her girlfriend hoping to ease her sudden serious turn and bring back the smile that shone in her eyes.

"Easy! 20 out of 10, hands down! I'm going to be walking around commando now because of you" Callie teased back, thankful for Arizona's offer to change the subject and lighten the mood again.

"Good to know I doubled the top score baby" Arizona grinned sweetly as she offered her croissant up for Callie to take a bite of it and Callie obliged before giving the blonde a sweet kiss in thanks.


	42. Chapter 42

"Mark there you are… did you need to speak with me or were you just there for a gloat?" Callie asked her best friend as she entered the HR office and spotted him flirting with one of the newer members of the team without shame.

"Oh hey Cal… sorry for interrupting your…" Mark glanced around the room and realized how many ears there were that could over hear this private conversation. "your umm meeting"

"Don't worry about it. If anything I'm glad you did. We were about to reach a resolution that isn't forecast yet" Callie offered with a shrug, smirking at how easily they could speak in business code about personal topics, something they had spent their entire adult lives practicing and perfecting.

"Oh well that's good then… so your brainstorming for the forecast seemed to be going well?" Mark teased with a lecherous grin.

"Yes I'm sure that the forecast will be extremely successful if this morning's brainstorming was anything to go by. Although if we continue to brainstorm so effectively then the forecast may be brought forward" Callie smiled dreamily at the thought, she had planned to wait a week or two longer, but she hadn't expected for the magnetic pull between them to be so strong, nor for the fire to burn so hot.

"What forecast is this?" Callie spun around in surprise to find her girlfriend stood beside her signing some forms laid on the desk in front of her and not even looking at her, which was probably a good thing because she was feeling incredibly guilty.

"They were discussing Mark walking in on you and Callie this morning, from the brainstorming and forecasting comments, I'm going to assume he walked in on you two making out and Cal was commenting on how if you two keep making out like that you will be having sex and sealing the deal a lot sooner than she plans" a straight haired redhead offered with a smirk and a teasing wink at the brunette.

"What the hell Addie!" Callie glared at one of her closest friends in the office in shock and horror. How the hell had she worked all of that out from one simple conversation.

"Oh please Cal, do you honestly think you and the man whore have such an impeccable unbreakable code that none of us lowly employees can work it out!" Addie scoffed as she leaned back in her chair and grinned smugly when she saw the sheer amusement on Arizona's face.

"How long have you known all this?" Callie asked in a panic, glancing at Mark worriedly.

"I worked it out after the first time I slept with the man whore and the two of you were discussing it in your stupid little code right in front of me… fyi… we are even now for you two idiots discussing how flexible I am right in front of me, thanks for making my day by turning up at the same time as them Arizona" Addie grinned cheekily and Arizona couldn't contain her amusement and glee at how panicked her girlfriend was looking right now.

"You're welcome… I do what I can! Calliope… care to further explain?" Arizona winked at the red head before turning her attention to a guilty looking Callie.

"I umm… I was just… we were… I…I…"

"That's what I thought… I just put those files you needed for 'the wharf' on your desk… maybe when your finished gossiping they can get your attention a-sap" Arizona bit her lip to swallow her laughter at Callie's guilty pout as she begun to nod.

"Sure Honey, I'll go look at them now… Addie… you just declared war you bitch" Callie sneered playfully as she glared at her friend who burst into laughter at the threat.

"Stop harassing the HR department head Calliope, HR are the ones who stop you from getting in trouble for sexual harassment" Arizona offered with a straight face but internally she was laughing at the horror and panic on her girlfriends face.

"What! I've never had anyone complain!" Callie scoffed as she crossed her arms defensively over her chest.

"Sorry Cal… did you just admit in front of the whole department that there would be grounds for complaint in the first place?" Addison asked and smirked when Callie sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes at Addie's attempt to wind her up, but there was a lot of people around who was listening.

"What of course not Addison… you know I would never push anyone to do anything they weren't a hundred percent up for!" Callie glanced between the blonde and the redhead before seeing the blonde's eyebrow slowly raise in questioning position.

"Oh god no I didn't mean like that… Addie and I have never… you know…" Callie trailed off nervously as she saw the teasing smirk on her girlfriends face and the amused smug grin on her friends face and knew they were winding her up, but she was so frenzied that she didn't know how to regain control of the conversation.

"Addison doesn't speak the vagina monologues " Mark supplied with a smirk to 'help' his friend out but laughed when Callie glared at him in return.

"She doesn't… Addie and I are friends only… that's it… I just meant that she knows me well enough to know I don't push myself onto anyone" Callie turned her attention back to the blonde and tried to zone the rest of the room out, she was feeling pretty embarrassed right now and was hoping the ground would open up a great big Callie shaped hole.

"Calliope?" Arizona asked sternly before the brunette could really embarrass herself by going off on a tangent rant.

"Yeah?" Callie asked nervously.

"Those files are collecting dust" Arizona offered a smile that read 'jump to it'.

"I'm going" Callie sighed before heading out of the office but when she heard several snickers erupting she turned around to glare at the offenders only to find Addie and Arizona high fiving.

"Not cool Arizona!" Callie pouted and glared, ignoring two of her best friends who were laughing with hilarity.

"But your so easy to wind up!" Arizona offered a lopsided grin.

"Watch your back blondie… she's dreaming up revenge… I can see it in her eyes" Mark laughed.

"she wouldn't dream of trying to get revenge… she knows who wears the trousers Mark… she's just bluffing to save face" Arizona teased, blowing a kiss to the brunette and winking as she saw the brunette back out of the room slowly whilst glaring at the blonde pointedly. Just before she moved out of sight, Callie returned the wink, offered a mischievous smile, and vanished.

Once her goddess was out of sight, Arizona turned back to the paperwork that she was in the middle of signing before Callie distracted her with a soft smile gracing her every facial feature.

"God I love how easy it is to wind Callie up with you around, please don't think about leaving us again" Addie giggled.

"Trust me… she may act the wounded puppy but Mark is absolutely right, she is planning something in retaliation!" Arizona scoffed as she flicked to a second file and quickly read through the information before beginning to sign all the relevant places again.

"Oh Arizona you left this file on my desk and I don't think it was meant for me, I thought I'd better rush back down here and give it back before I got in any more trouble" Callie smiled in a sickly sweet way as she handed over a sealed cardboard folder and left the room with a swagger and no backward glance. Arizona watched on and suddenly sensed something was amiss.

Arizona glanced down at the folder in her hands questioningly, she knew she hadn't left this folder on Callie's desk… in fact the folder was black cardboard, a color only Callie used – she swore it was to piss her off because of the waste in non recyclable materials - and written on it in Callie's beautiful elegant handwriting was the words 'Property of Arizona Robbins' she unwound the small piece of string from the clasp and lifted the folder lid in confusion before slamming it shut again with a blush, glancing around the room quickly to see if anyone was paying attention to her and finding that everyone was wrapped up in their own workload before she opened it again tentatively.

Yep, nothing had changed since she first looked. There in the cardboard enclosure, in her hands was a pair of stark white lace panties that looked suspiciously like the same material the bra she had caught a glimpse of encasing Callie's breasts this morning. She gulped audibly as she pulled off a post it note that was attached to the underside of the lid flap and read it with a building blush as her breath began to quicken.

'Baby, I wasn't joking about having to take these off… can you remind me to put some spare in my drawer so I don't have to walk around commando to avoid soaked panties? C xxx'

Arizona instantly felt a wave of desire shoot through her and she had to bite her lip to contain the moan as she tossed the post it back in the folder and sealed it shut before anyone else could see. The fire that had finally ebbed from this mornings encounter was suddenly roaring and Arizona couldn't take it, just the thought of Callie in that tight charcoal pencil skirt with not a stitch beneath it had her blood racing around her veins and her heart pounding in her ears.

"Sorry I think I gave you the wrong folder, this is the one I meant to give to you, that one is mine" Callie smirked smugly as she leaned sexily over a desk and holding her hand out to Arizona to get the folder containing her underwear back. And from the look on Arizona's face and the exotic turquoise color of her eyes, she knew she had successfully reaped her revenge.

"Umm nope… this one is definitely mine… see it even says 'property of Arizona Robbins' on it" the blonde grinned as she deliberately pointed at Callie's elegant penmanship. She saw a flash of panic flash through Callie's eyes at being refused the return if her undies and knew she could have a lot of fun with this.

"I umm.. I think the contents got muddled up, your stuff's in this folder" Callie stuttered as a blush rose to her cheeks.

"Nope… this ones mine… don't get your knickers in a twist about it baby!" Arizona winked cheekily at her girlfriend who was looking extremely uncomfortable. "I just checked… there's nothing but some briefs in here for a project I'm working on"

"I'm pretty sure that's my folder Arizona" Callie smiled through gritted teeth, damn this blonde and her ability to always take Callie's fun and spin it around so she's on the receiving end.

"Nope it's definitely mine… oh hey Cal I tried to play my guitar last night but the g string was missing, you haven't seen it have you?" Arizona stifled a laugh at the death glare Callie threw at her.

"Umm nope I didn't touch your guitar… can I please get my folder back?" Callie tried to ask nicely, despite wanting to throttle her girlfriend right now.

"Why are you so intent on knickering my folder? I mean nicking… wow that was a weird mess up of words" Arizona offered with a shit eating grin.

"Arizona!" Callie groaned, realizing that their interaction was starting to gain attention from the rest of the occupants of the HR department and she needed to put an end to this quickly.

"Yes sweetie?" Arizona offered with a soft lopsided smile.

"Can you please just give me the damn folder back?" Callie begged.

"Hmmm… nope I need this folder, it has some very important briefs in it, I told you that" Arizona smirked and raised her eyebrow to tell Callie that she shouldn't have started what she couldn't finish.

"Fine… whatever. I'll be in my office" Callie huffed, spun on her heel and stormed from the room.

"Please tell me that folder contains what I think it contains" Addie smirked as she muttered quietly so only Arizona could hear, grinning at Arizona's blush returning and answering the question for her.

"It's just some briefs I need for a project… I have no idea what Callie's talking about, I think she hit her head when she fell off the bed drunk last night" Arizona tried to lie and turned back to the reports she needed to finish signing off on.

"Right… oh hey… when you see Cal next can you ask her where she buys her lingerie from.. that is one hell of a tight skirt and whatever she is wearing underneath it is completely invisible" Addie mocked and laughed softly when Arizona blushed deeper.

"Umm sure, I'll be sure to ask her to come and let you know" Arizona smiled guiltily before tucking the folder safely under her arm and grabbing her phone from her pocket as she turned to leave, she couldn't help but smirk when she saw a waiting text from Callie and quickly opened it, her blush having disappeared and a teasing proud smirk back on her face.

'you weren't meant to keep them you bitch, that was just cruel and your puns suck! I am so going to get you back for this.. until then everytime you see me in this skirt you love so much you will remember that there is absolutely nothing under it… NOTHING' Arizona giggled proudly that she had taken Callie's revenge plan and turned it back on the brunette so successfully, although now she had to spend the whole day imagining her extremely hot girlfriend completely commando under that extremely hot skirt… perhaps Callie's ploy hadn't been such a failure after all.


	43. Chapter 43

"You look pretty" Callie smiled as she let herself into Arizona's apartment and dropped her overnight bag on the ground before rushing to sweep her girlfriend up into her arms and kissing her sweetly as she span her on the spot.

"I missed your lips" Callie confided as she pulled back before placing a gentle kiss to the tip of Arizona's nose and smiling softly as she gazed into brilliant bright blue eyes.

"I missed your lips too… you look incredible… the more I see you dressed like this the more I love it" Arizona sighed dreamily as she took in the faded black ripped jeans, the grey long sleeved t-shirt with maroon shoulders and sleeves and the charcoal knitted long beanie perched on natural dark wavy hair that was hanging down her shoulders. Callie looked every ounce of a normal person, all traces of famous face Callie Torres had been removed and Arizona adored the look. "You're hot in your business attire, but your so beautiful when you just dress down... when it's just you and no traces of anyone else"

"I will remember that for the future when im choosing my outfits… I brought you something" Callie smiled sweetly as she produced a single pink sunflower on a thirty centimeter stem from behind her back.

"Oh my god it's so pretty… is it real?" Arizona asked excitedly as she smelled the flowers sweet scent before glancing back at her girlfriend appreciatively.

"It is… it's some kind of genetically modified hybrid or something… I saw it in the florist on the way over here and had to get it for you… the woman in the florist explained how they grew it pink but it went right over my head… I just knew it was pretty and had to get it for my pretty lady" Callie flirted almost bashfully before leaning in for a chaste kiss.

Arizona grabbed a champagne flute from the cupboard and filled it with water before placing the sunflower in it and putting the makeshift vase on display on the entertainment unit next to her TV before moving to her satchel on the dining table and grabbing something before returning to the brunette with a black cardboard folder.

"I brought you a present too" Arizona smiled sweetly as she handed it over to a visibly relieved Callie who instantly peeked inside the folder to check the contents were still in there and sighed in relief.

"Thank you baby… I was starting to doubt I would ever see these again I thought you were holding them hostage, that really backfired on me didn't it!" Callie scoffed.

"Of course I would give them back. I just wanted to make sure I got to enjoy your seamless sexy ass all day" Arizona grinned as she wrapped her arms over Callie's shoulders and grinned sweetly.

"Your really mean you know?… you play way too dirty" Callie mocked as she tossed the folder aside and grabbed the blondes hips, swaying them together gently.

"I'm a dirty mean genius… but anyway.. where are we going tonight?" Arizona grinned as she kissed Callie's plump lips chastely.

"It's a surprise… you will see when we arrive… just promise me one thing before we leave" Arizona noticed Callie's eyes change, and a nervousness settle in them.

"Sure baby, what is it?" the blonde asked as she ducked to meet Callie's eyes and smiled reassuringly.

"No complaints or arguments… I asked you on this date so it's my choice what we do and where we go and it's my treat" Callie stated confidently... but her tone and eyes gave away that she wasn't confident at all. Instead her demand came out as more of a pleading.

"That... Does not... Sound good! What did you do Calliope?" Arizona asked teasingly as she swayed their hips a little more to keep the tone of everything light.

"Nothing just… for one night can we just not think about money or anything like that and just enjoy what I have planned together? Can you please, please do that for me… just this once?" Callie pleaded and as Arizona looked into those deep expressive chocolate pools, she knew that even if she wanted to, there was no way she could refuse her love.

"Ok… fine… but you don't need to do extravagant expensive things with me Callie I'm really not that kind of girl" Arizona smiled sweetly as she nuzzled her nose against a caramel one affectionately, she knew this was likely to be a topic that would keep coming up in their relationship, but as long as they kept their communication lines open, the blonde was sure that they would pull through it.

"I know that babe… but you also have to understand that your girlfriend IS a Torres, sometimes extravagant and expensive ARE part of the deal. I don't generally flash my wealth around, sure I like to wear nice clothes and surround myself by nice things… but you rarely ever see me showing off my money like it defines who I am and if I knew I would get away with the topic not being raised tonight I wouldn't have said anything, but I know you... your not stupid and once we leave the apartment that little calculator in your head will start working and at some point you WILL question it… but just for tonight I would really like it if we could just focus on the memories we are making together and not worry about any of the other stuff" Callie asked softly. She had no intent of splurging on Arizona to gain her affection, but sometimes it was unavoidable and sometimes it's nice to just do the nice things that cost a little more. Arizona would just need to get used to it, it was part of the deal, just like listening to environmental rants and lectures was part of the deal with Arizona.

"Ok your right… I guess… I've never had to worry about money in the sense of having so much I can do whatever I want… it will take an adjustment but we are equal in this relationship and that means financially too… I really don't want you thinking you have to buy expensive gifts or take me to posh restaurants or do grande guesture's… I want a relationship based on love, respect and mutual understanding, not based on making my friends jealous over my new lamborghini that my girlfriend bought me just to say 'I love you'… I would rather you just told me you love me!" Arizona offered honestly as her eyes remained on Callie's, she didn't want any misunderstandings on this topic, Callie's wealth had the ability to drive a wedge in their relationship so she wanted to get things clear between them.

"Lamborghini… are you dropping hints for your birthday already?" Callie scoffed and offered a playful wink.

"Don't you dare… an acceptable birthday present is pair of earrings… or a book… or a pair of shoes… NOT a sports car! That's my counter offer… if you want me to not stress about the money you have to not buy silly expensive gifts for me" Arizona shrugged as if there was no room for compromises, and on this topic there really was little budge room for compromise. If Callie was to lavish her with expensive gifts and grand gestures then their relationship was doomed anyway, better to clear it up and make it clear where they stood on the money topic now and hope that they could see eye to eye on the topic.

"Your amazing you know. I've never met a woman like you before… your just… your amazing and your perfect and I love you so much... thank you for not being live every other woman I have ever met" Callie nuzzled her nose softly against Arizona's before kissing the tip of her nose.

"I love you too and maybe the difference is that I love you because I love you... and not your bank account, or what I can get from you, or how it will look if I'm seen hanging around with you, or the opportunities I can get for knowing the famous Callie Torres... I just love you because you make me laugh, and you make me smile and you're a doofus, and your full of charm and wit and your incredibly smart despite liking people to think your dumb, and your amazing with the boys, and your such a ginormous geek and one of the things I love most about you, is you are beautiful inside and out but don't even realize it! Now are we going to get going or what… I'm desperate to see what my amazing girlfriend has planned that you needed to forewarn me" Arizona teased softly.

"Sure, let's go... are you ready for the best date of your life? I mean... this date is going to rock your world and make all dates you have ever had in the past seem like some kind of dentist appointment" Callie smirked proudly.

"Oh I was born ready baby" Arizona flirted.

Callie guided Arizona down to the car and smiled sweetly as she opened the door and motioned for her to slide inside. Arizona melted on the spot at Callie's chivalry and placed a sweet kiss on Callie's cheek before sliding into the backseat of the limo with Callie hot on her heels. As the car moved towards a small air field Arizona glanced at Callie questioningly but Callie simply smiled mischeviously.

"I have a bad feeling about this Calliope" Arizona announced half jokingly as she looked eagerly for any sign of what to expect out of the blacked out windows. Her lips parting slightly as a small aircraft came into view by the side of a tin hanger. On the floor was several pieces of equipment were laid out neatly in preparation.

"Umm... what is this?" Arizona asked nervously as she turned to Callie who had a smile that read the same nervousness.

"This is the part one of our second date... I thought we could do some sightseeing" Callie smirked as she squeezed the pale hand in her own supportively.

"In a light aircraft?" Arizona asked amusement laced with a thousand questions.

"In a light aircraft" Callie parroted teasigly.

"Why do I feel like there is more to it than this?" Arizona asked with a squint.

"Because your suspicious and impatient" Callie scoffed as she slid out of the car and held the door open with one hand and her other hand held out in offer to the blonde. Arizona took the caramel hand in her own and slid out of the car, her eyes taking in all the clues surrounding her but still not being able to work out what Callie had planned for them, that was until they got close enough to the plane to see what the neat stacks of equipment on the floor were and her heart dropped to her stomach.

"Why are there parachutes Calliope?" Arizona asked dumbly.

"Because I wanted you to get a view of the city you love so much in a way you have never seen before... to actually be a art of the city as you fly through it" Callie said with a smile.

"Wait... they are dropping us over the city?... isn't that like... incredibly dangerous! has it ever actually been done before?!" Arizona felt her legs tremble at the prospect.

"Well there is always a little danger but these guys are very very good at what they do, and I got us special permits to allow us to drop straight into Central Park... it is kind of a unique experience" Callie offered hoping that Arizona wouldn't be too chicken to not do this with her.

"Ok... let's do this... if I die though, I'm going to haunt you that sexy ass of yours!" Arizona offered and tried to sound confident, but there was a definite quaking in her dulcet tones.

"I hope that's a promise, I kind of like the idea of having my own personal ghost" Callie teased.

"You're a pig... are we doing this or what" Arizona laughed before kissing her girlfriends cheek.

"What! I didn't even say anything!" Callie giggled.

"You don't need to, I can see your Casper the girlfriend-ly ghost fantasy playing out in your mind, it's written all over your gorgeous face" Arizona scoffed as she traced a thumb over Callie's cheek and smiled knowingly.

"Quit reading me like that! I need to have some secrets!" Callie whined as she offered a playful pouted.

"Ok baby, how about I pretend I can't see the lust all over your face and how indiscreet your mental fantasies are" Arizona laughed as she pinched the caramel cheek between her thumb and forefinger much to Callie's annoyance.

"That would be really good thank you... now come one, are we doing this?" Callie swatted her hand away and kissed her in a way that left Arizona's head spinning.

"We are so doing this... just... if we die, I love you" Arizona offered with a straight face.

"We are not going to die" Callie scoffed.

"But what if we do and you never told me that you love me" Arizona teased.

"Fine I love you" Callie said pointedly with a dramatic sigh before winking at the blonde.

"Really, you want the last time you say 'I love you' to be said like that?" Arizona creased up as she slapped Callie's shoulder playfully.

"God you drive me insane Arizona. We are not going to die, this is not the last time I will ever tell you how I feel, but I want you to know that I love you, very much... and the more time we spend together the more I'm falling in love with you and I'm so happy that I get to enjoy these things with you, I want to always share experiences with you and make memories with you" Callie offered affectionately.

"Much better baby... lets go" Arizona winked teasingly before walking away, her connected fingers tugging Callie to catch up. Callie was rolling her eyes and scoffing at Arizona's response.

They approached the four men who were hanging around the plane running checks on the engine and the body. They all introduced themselves and the two dive guys hung around and explained the equipment and why it was important as they helped the women slip on the dark grey jumpsuit over their clothes to keep them warm before they were helped to put on all the other attachments.

They went through the process explaining what would happen, when it would happen and why it would happen. Callie kept sneaking slide glances at her girlfriend, wondering how anyone could make a grey jumpsuit look so frigging sexy. And the blonde looked relaxed almost, despite the fact she had come across as so nervous earlier. The sound of that delicious voice broke her train of thought.

"So… correct me if im wrong but normally when you do a drop its in a wide open space… not in the middle of a city center?" Arizona eyed the two men for an explanation.

"Absolutely, especially on tandem dives where one of the divers is a complete novice, the more space the better… but we aren't coming down in the middle of Park Avenue, we have a zone sectioned off pretty much in the center of Central Park, so as long as we jump during the window and we steer right we wont have any worries" Steve, the guy who would be paired with Callie answered with a confident smile. He himself was excited to do this dive.

"Have either of you done this dive before?" Arizona asked and when she saw both men shake their heads she glanced at Callie nervously but once again Steve spoke up.

"Only because the city has permits to stop people from doing it otherwise New York would be full of novice skydivers all day everyday but Callie got the permits within two hours of requesting we do the dive. As far as we are aware we're the first people to actually be doing this… it's quite exciting for us too" Steve grinned.

"Really exciting… which is why we have all the cameras on the bird and several on us 'cause who knows if we will ever get to do a dive like this again" Gary, Arizona's partner added with the excitement of a small child as he motioned towards all the various different sets of cameras on him.

"Once we've done the editing of the footage and done some screen grabs we will send you copies over for you both" Gary smiled before moving off to discuss something with the two pilots.

"Hmmm…" Arizona pulled a false deep thoughtful face.

"What baby? If you want to back out I'll understand" Callie offered as she pulled the blonde into her arms and held her close, knowing once they were strapped to their dive buddies there would be no ability for hugs and kisses.

"Sky diving into Central Park… nobody else has ever done it… required a permit which you managed to get in just two hours when it normally takes weeks if not months…" Arizona trailed off as she raised a knowing eyebrow.

"Didn't we agree that if you don't want a lambo for your birthday we wouldn't bring this up" Callie smirked and raised her own eyebrow in challenge.

"You're the one bringing money up… I was just going to say that it's obvious you have gone to a lot of effort for this so thank you… it's not something I would have picked but I'm really excited to experience this with you" Arizona melted into the embrace and kissed Callie's neck before nuzzling her nose about it.

"What, so no lectures on how much phase one of our date has cost?" Callie asked vulnerably and Arizona could see how nervous she was about upsetting her over the extravagant date.

"No lectures baby, only a promise of a hot and heavy make out when we get home to show my appreciation for such an amazing date that obviously took a lot of effort" Arizona leaned in and kissed the brunette sweetly.

"You know… the thing that turns me off about flashing the cash is that it's so impersonal… like you just go and get something or do something because it looks impressive and when you tell people about it they will be jealous that you got it and they didn't but it's fast and easy and impersonal… this isn't impersonal Cal… I can see that this is something really personal for you… I can see it took you a lot of thought, time and effort to organize and make happen and I can see that your as excited as I am about it and I can guarantee you this will be a date I will never ever forget. So please stop worrying ok? I don't care what it cost, it's not even a factor in my thinking process… I just care that we both enjoy this together… and that we don't die" Arizona grinned as she nuzzled her nose against Callie's before placing a loving kiss against her lips.

"Ok ladies… one last call for the toilet before we get going?" Gary smiled as he walked up to the clearly loved up couple. "No? Do you guys want a photo of the two of you in your gear with the plane before you get strapped up to us?" Gary took Arizona's offered phone and waited while the girls got ready in front of the plane before snapping several photos for them and handing the phone back.

"Ok Callie. When we hit the ground, we will get you both stood up as quickly as we can, get you unclipped from your harnesses and your ride will be waiting besides the water fountain. We have been in contact and they have confirmed that they have checked out the landing zone and will be waiting twenty minutes before our ETA hopefully we will swing it that before the press arrive your already gone" Steve smiled as he slid his mobile into his pants pocket and zipped up his own jumpsuit and smiled at the two nervous women.

"Why would there be press?" Arizona frowned as she glanced between her three companions.

"Because it's not everyday someone parachutes into Central Park so we assume that the bloodhounds would want to know who it was and why and having a press conference on our date isn't exactly the kind of feel I am trying to go for tonight" Callie laughed.

"Ok ladies… we have everything we need, the planes checked over, the equipment's checked over, you've had your safety brief and know what your doing, your ride after landing is all sorted… time to strap in and enjoy the ride!" Gary grinned excitedly.

Callie and Arizona offered each other a nervous glance before approaching the plane on nervous but determined legs, their fingers clutching tightly against the others.


	44. Chapter 44

"You ok?" Callie yelled to be heard over the sound of the planes roaring engine.

"Shitting myself" Arizona confessed and her three companions laughed heartily at her honesty.

"Don't worry Arizona! Callie picked us because we have thousands of jumps combined, your in safe hands so just sit back and enjoy yourself" Gary patted her shoulder comfortingly and although she couldn't see it, she could tell he was smiling at her... he hadn't stopped smiling since they received the call from Callie that morning.

"Yeah that's sweet and all Gary, but I'm still shitting myself!" Arizona smirked.

"Ok guys that's the signal… this is your last chance to back out… do we have any chicken shits on board?" Steve smirked as he watched the two women eye each other nervously and shake their heads almost as if waiting for the other to back out.

"Ok Callie, we're gonna go first… you ready for this?" Steve grinned excitedly, he had wanted to do this jump for many years now, and finally his chance was here... he was going to enjoy every single second of this.

"Can I kiss her one last time just incase you miscalculate and we end up slamming into the Empire State?" Callie forced a laugh but secretly she dreaded the possibility. Steve rolled his eyes calmly, not doubting himself for a second before he moved to position Callie so she was face to face with the blonde, leaving him awkwardly looking at Gary over their heads and blowing him a mocking kiss.

"I'll see you down there baby. I love you" Callie grinned.

"I love you too… be safe" Arizona cooed as she awkwardly leant forward and strained against her harness straps to reach Callie's lips for a chaste kiss, aware of the two men who were stood right there trying to give them some privacy.

"You too" Callie smiled more confidently than she felt before motioning to Steve that she was ready, even if her body wasn't feeling ready to jump out of a plane.

Callie was guided to the side of the plane where the door was opened by the co-pilot who had slipped back to see their passengers off secure the door then get back to his seat. He guided her out to a ledge and gave the co-pilot the thumbs up.

"Eye's open Torres .. the cameras rolling and I won't hesitate to show the world you chickening out and keeping your eyes shut" Steve laughed loudly over the roar of the wind blowing in their faces, he could see that Callie had turned and was about to make a retort over her shoulder and initiated the deployment sequence… as Callie's mouth opened to tell him that she was no chicken shit, she was hit by the immense pressure of air hitting her face and stealing the words right out of her mouth right along with the girliest squeal, a girly squeal that she didn't even know she was capable of making and she hoped that none of the camera's had microphones.

"Ok now those two lunatics have gone, are you ready?" Gary asked and grinned when Arizona offered a confident single nod despite her nervous grimace which was offered as she craned her head around her shoulder.

"You're a lucky girl you know" Gary smiled warmly. "thanks for inadvertently making this happen for me… I've always wanted to do this... make sure you thank her enough for me... and Steve too" Gary offered a little flirtily and Arizona was sure she could hear him winking behind her but before she could analyze it any further or even reply she found herself out of the plane, onto the ledge and then free falling from ten thousand feet with nothing but the Earth rushing towards her.

Her first instinct was to hurl, the sight of the tiny city below her sparkling as the fading sun shone against the miniscule windows and metal of the teeny tiny buildings below as it rushed towards her was terrifying, exhilarating but terrifying but then she spotted Steve's back and knew that Callie was just below her, and the thought that Callie was close and was still safe, instantly soothed her.

Steve spread out his arms and legs in a move designed to increase his wind resistance and slow down the speed of their free fall. He had a huge smile on his face as he scanned the view below him, hundreds of world famous buildings tightly compacted together and hurtling towards him, this was the dream, this was his dream and he couldn't believe it was finally happening!

Gary grabbed Arizona's arms and pinned them to her body, keeping a firm grasp on her wrists, his legs wrapped around her own, entwining them almost intimately between his as he expertly motioned their heads down towards the ground and their asses up into space and within seconds a grin spread across Arizona's face as she realized what he was doing.

Moments later he whipped their arms out together and released her legs as he grabbed onto a hand hold on Steve's harness and gave Steve a hand signal which was returned. Arizona felt the wind start whipping against her extremities as the wind resistance hit her.

Arizona glanced to her side, studying the wide brown eyes and huge smile on her girlfriends face, a smile she knew would be mirrored on her own and when Callie glanced at her and winked, she could feel her own smile widen even further, Callie's first planned date so far was... incredible... out of this world amazing. She had no idea how the hell she was going to top this

The two women glanced down and their hands subconsciously found their way to each others like magnets attracted to each other. Their fingers entwined and squeezed tightly in a silent conversation about the thrill and excitement they were feeling as the buildings rushed closer and became more recognizable. Both women's hearts pounded in their chests as they focused on the ground approaching them.

Gary grabbed their hands in his own, squeezed them apologetically before ripping them apart and once again pulled Arizona's hands into her chest and wrapped his legs around hers. The two women glanced at each other in confusion before Gary moved their bodies into a position to drop several feet below Callie and Steve and angle away from them, whilst Steve moved Callie's body like a puppet master to give them more wind drag and slow their decent as much as possible in order to create a decent safe distance between the two pairs so that their parachutes wouldn't collide when they were deployed.

Callie watched on in awe at the sight of Arizona below her with the cityscape before a small white chute appeared, the wind dragging the main chute gracefully from its enclosure. She could have sworn she heard a shriek from Arizona but before she had time to analyze it she felt her entire body being yanked and shrieked herself, that damn girly shriek again... they better not have bloody microphones! She glanced up and saw the canopy of her own parachute already fully erect above her and she smiled as she glanced back towards Arizona, wishing she could see the smile that she knew the blonde would be wearing.

As Gary expertly navigated their controlled decent closer and closer to their landing zone, Arizona's heart was in her mouth. Here she was floating magically amongst the buildings she had spent her entire life studying. It was amazing! Her body glided past the Chrysler and her hand instinctually reached out to touch the gargoyle which was way too far out of reach, but it was there at her eye level with nothing but air between her and it and she suddenly felt this intense rush of wonder and excitement fill her.

Callie grinned as she glanced down and saw her girlfriend on the ground safely as Steve motioned them towards the opposite side, she took once last sweep around her, still in awe of how much this experience had exceeded her expectations. She felt their bodies reach the ground, Steve running and leaning back as Callie pulled her feet high to her chest as instructed. And finally it was all over, Steve was working hard to disconnect them and unfasten their harnesses as Arizona flat out ran into Callie's arms and hugged her tight almost bowling the pair over.

Callie could hear Steve laughing at the force Arizona had hit her with from over her shoulder, but all she could do was grin into her girlfriends hair.

"Ok your disconnected from all the gear. Get out of here and I'll call you on Monday about the footage. Enjoy the rest of your night and thanks for this… my best dive to date!" Steve grinned as he patted Callie's shoulder before shoving her gently to get going, he could already see a large swell of people surrounding the lines they had taped up to keep the landing zone empty, all craning their necks in excitement to try and see which celebrity had managed to parachute land in the middle of New York City. The press would be here any second if they weren't already and if he had any hopes of the brunette asking him to do that dive ever again, he needed to keep the brunette happy - and he needed to find out how Gary had disconnected Arizona so damn quickly.

Callie clutched Arizona's hand and pulled her behind her as she began to run towards the fountain where she knew phase two of their date was awaiting them. She spun around and grabbed Arizona's hips and hoisted her into the carriage before jumping up and motioning for their driver to get moving.

"A horse drawn carriage Calliope… really?" Arizona asked in wonder when she finally managed to look at her surroundings and found herself in an ornate cream and gold carriage, the seats lined with claret colored velvet. Up ahead was a Clydesdale horse attached with black leather straps and guiding him was a driver wearing a grey penguin jacket and matching top hat.

"What… too cheesy?" Callie laughed self consciously as she took her helmet off and stowed it carefully in the box Steve and Gary had arranged to be in the carriage waiting for them. She took Arizona's gear from her and turned the helmet cams off in the way Steve had taught her before turning to her girlfriend with a huge smile as she took off her gloves.

"No way! I've always wanted to do this but no-one ever took me and I couldn't go alone... that's just really sad and pathetic" Arizona giggled as she pulled Callie into her with a fist full of t-shirt and kissed Callie sweetly.

"Well you never have to worry about looking sad and pathetic again Honey, you have me now and I want to always be the one you experience new things with and old things" Callie offered as she shrugged out of her jumpsuit and made a half assed attempt to fold it with Arizona's.

Finally they were free of all of their dive gear and Callie closed the box before she grabbed a thick cream woolen blanket and two thermos travel mugs and eased back into the chair next to her girl before tucking the blanket around them and handling Arizona's one mug whilst flicking open her own and wrapping her arm around Arizona's shoulder and pulling the blonde close.

"Hot chocolate?" Arizona opened her mug and inhaled the aroma deeply with closed eyes and grinned.

"Cadbury's hot chocolate made with milk not water just how my princess likes" Callie cooed as she watched the blondes antics, leaning in and kissing a cool ivory cheek.

"Wow, you really are pulling out all the stops" Arizona smiled before taking s sip of the piping hot liquid and sighing contently. "Thank you baby, you're the best!"

"That was by far the second best thing I have ever experienced" Arizona announced eventually, they had been riding around Central Park for around half an hour in content silence as they warmed up on their hot chocolates and allowed their wired bodies to settle down as they snuggled together and enjoyed the view and the peaceful ride after their earlier exhilaration.

"Second? Well what was the first best thing you have ever experienced then? What could have possibly beaten that… coz that … that was fucking amazing" Callie beamed as she remembered the feeling of free falling into NYC.

"The first experience beats that hands down, and as amazing as skydiving was and as hard as it made my heart beat and scared and excited as I was… it will never top our first kiss, nothing will" Arizona replied sweetly as she turned to Callie, her eyes deep and serious.

"That's the sweetest thing you have ever said to me" Callie admitted with a lopsided grin.

"I'm not trying to be sweet, I'm being honest! That was amazing and I loved it but what made it incredible was the fact that I got to experience it with you… this is why I was so hesitant to try this… thing... between us, because the things you have me feeling right now… they terrify me Calliope because I already feel like I can't exist without you, like you are an integral part of me that I need to survive so what happens if this doesn't work? How the hell am I supposed to get over you when you are this perfect and amazing and incredible" Arizona felt a warm tear roll down her cold cheek and brushed it away with embarrassment.

"But I'm not going anywhere baby… and we will work. Do you know how I'm so sure that we will work? I have never felt this way before. I can't get enough of you. I can't stop smiling just knowing that I belong to you and that you belong to me, I can't think about anything because my head is full of you. Everything I do reminds me of you. When things happen I always find myself looking to see if your reacting the same way I am and if your not there my first instinct is to find you and tell you about it. You can't tell me that all of these things I'm feeling, you don't feel too?" Callie asked nervously.

"God no… I feel it and it scares me Callie... what do we do if this doesn't work? How can we move forward from that? I never thought I would say this a year ago, but I love having you in my life, I love having you as my friend and I'm really falling in love with having you as my girlfriend"

"Then hold my hand and let's be scared together because I have told you, I'm not giving this up no matter what, I'm not giving you up and even if things change and we find ourselves wanting to just quit and walk away… I promise I will remind you of this moment right here and how happy and in love we are and I will fight for the both of us if I have to… I'm not letting you go Arizona, this is it now… you and me… so stop thinking about what your going to do if it falls apart and start thinking about what you want our future to look like because that's all you need to worry about now" Callie cradled Arizona's cheek as she spoke and allowed her thumbs to tenderly wipe away at the tears as they fell.

"You know the thing that surprises me the most about you?" Arizona smiled softly, turning her face to place a kiss in the palm of Callie's hand whilst her eyes stayed connected to the deep brown eyes a few inches away.

"That I'm such a good kisser?" Callie teased and grinned when Arizona scoffed in amusement.

"That for someone who is self claimed anti relationship's… for someone who has always been so dead set against commitment and being with just one person… your amazing at being a girlfriend" Callie laughed hard at her girlfriend and shoved her playfully. "Hey" Arizona pouted. "I'm serious Calliope, you are already the best girlfriend I have ever had and we haven't even been together a full week yet! I love you, and I love the friend side of you and I love the girlfriend side of you"

"Thank you baby… but I promise I will spend the rest of my life making sure you remember you said that" Callie grinned teasingly.

"Ms Torres, we have arrived" the driver announced and Callie glanced around, she hadn't even noticed that the carriage had been slowing down, or that it had already stopped moving.

"Come on blondie… ready to see part three?" Callie smirked.


End file.
